Padre Padrone (1977)

The film that introduced brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani to a worldwide audience, an adaptation of Gavino Ledda's autobiographical PADRE PADRONE: THE EDUCATION OF A SHEPHERD, stars Severio Marconi as the the young Ledda. When he is only seven years old, the boy's harshly patriarchal father (Omero Antonutti) hauls him off to the craggy hills of their native Sardinia, to live and work as a shepherd, the father's occupation. The father beats the boy virtually at a whim for committing the slightest error, and his cruelty is never softened by any demonstration of love. Solace comes only in the form of isolation since camaraderie with neighboring shepherd boys angers the father. When he is 20 years old, Gavino's liberation comes, ironically, in the form of military conscription. For the first time in his life, he's able to mix in society and lead something close to a normal life. Eventually he discovers his calling in the academic world, and goes on to become an outstanding linguist. After many years, he again sees his father, an embittered man, incapable of understanding his son's life. While at times lacking in cinematic fluency, the enormous power of this seemingly simple story makes up for any shortcomings.