The Postman

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The Postman

PG

1995

1h 56m

Romance

Biography

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

89 Reviews

94%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Mario Ruoppolo, the mailman on an Italian island, pines from afar for a beautiful waitress. But when exiled Chilean poet Pablo Neruda comes to live on the island, Ruoppolo delivers Neruda's mail and picks up lessons on love, life and poetry.

Critics Consensus

The Postman movingly explores themes of love and friendship through sensitively depicted -- and beautifully acted -- relationships in 1950s Italy.

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Janet Maslin

New York Times

5h

As a rueful, warmly affecting film featuring a wonderful performance by Mr. Troisi, The Postman would be attention-getting even without the sadness that overshadows it.

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Joe Pollack

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

16h

A superb little movie, sweetly sentimental without being maudlin, biting in its political sentiments, beautifully written, acted and directed.

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Craig MacInnis

Toronto Star

16h

4/5

Movies like Il Postino rarely, if ever, get made on this side of the world. Wry and leisurely, its rhythms depend as much on spaces, gestures and ambient detail as on its storyline or dialogue.

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Ronan Farren

Sunday Independent (Ireland)

5h

The success of the film, a tale of the triumph of the simple over the sophisticated, is due largely to the lovely performances by the three principals.

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Tim Appelo

Oregonian

16h

2.5/4

Troisi's farewell performance is a marvel of precise understatement. And you don't need to know how close he is to death to sense a terrible poignance in his gaze.

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Joanna Connors

Cleveland Plain Dealer

16h

Radford doesn't have the perfect actors for this airy conceit; he has the only actors for it. After seeing it, you can't imagine anyone but the late Massimo Troisi as Mario.

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Mo S.

@9mr_0 Dec 7

لطيف جدا و القصه جميله لكن قرات ان بطل العمل مات ايضا في الحياه الواقعيه

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Alec B

@Alec97 10/13/2023

Slightly charming but this is typical Miramax awards bait.

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Leaburn O

04/11/2023

This film was charming 👍🏼

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Mark A

12/16/2022

An engaging, small foreign film.

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Jorge M

@Jorge199999 09/04/2022

photography on this is beautiful and the story very well told

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isla s

09/01/2022

I thought this was a lovely, charming film. It has some nice scenery and delightful characters. I enjoyed the explanations of metaphors and poetry, how they can be used to help express feelings and the like. Its got a bit of a slow plot I suppose but its not all about the plot - the setting and philosophical angles are very nice. I particularly like the titular character, the postman Mario Ruoppolo - a quite shy and reserved, yet curious person who slowly becomes more and more interested in the poets life and understanding of his profession as a writer. I also liked that there is a subtle social political side to it as well, in terms of the reactions by older generations to what happens - it gives the film, whats explained, a deeper meaning I feel somehow. I won't elaborate so as not to provide any unnecessary spoilers. I thought it didn't seem too 'up itself' and I very much enjoyed watching it, so I'd recommend it to others.

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Michael Radford

Director

Massimo Troisi

Mario Ruoppolo

Philippe Noiret

Pablo Neruda

Maria Grazia Cucinotta

Beatrice Russo

Linda Moretti

Donna Rosa

Renato Scarpa

Telegrapher

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Synopsis

Mario Ruoppolo, the mailman on an Italian island, pines from afar for a beautiful waitress. But when exiled Chilean poet Pablo Neruda comes to live on the island, Ruoppolo delivers Neruda's mail and picks up lessons on love, life and poetry.

Director: Michael Radford
Producer: Gaetano Daniele, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Mario Cecchi Gori
Screenwriter: Anna Pavignano, Michael Radford, Furio Scarpelli, Giacomo Scarpelli, Antonio Skármeta, Massimo Troisi
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Miramax, Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinema
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance, Biography, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 14, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 17, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $17.1M
Runtime: 1h 56m
Sound Mix: Surround

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