With his family mired in financial troubles, Domenico moves to Milan, Italy, from his small town to get a job in lieu of furthering his education. A lack of options forces him to take a position as a messenger at a big company, where he hopes to receive a promotion soon. There, Domenico meets Antonietta, a young woman in a similar situation as himself. The two form a tentative relationship, but the soulless nature of their jobs threatens to keep them apart.
Direction
Olmi shoots the office like a prison, fluorescent lights as bars.
Acting
Non-professional cast brings crushing authenticity to every sigh.
Cinematography
Milan's concrete and corridors swallow Domenico whole.
Director
Ermanno Olmi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Olmi cast actual Milanese office workers; the humiliation in their faces is real lived experience. This is Italian neorealism's quietest masterpiece.
The title 'Il Posto' means both 'the job' and 'the place'—Domenico spends the film searching for both and finding neither.
IT
