Only for passion: the film about Letizia Battaglia is a real public service

It would have been easy to build a hagiographic film based on the chronicle of the facts, but Roberto went with Only for passion: Letizia Battaglia photographer went further, creating a complex work capable of paying homage to the work and memory of one of the greatest Italian photographers, who managed, in years strangled by fear, to tell the Palermo stained with the blood of Cosa Nostra, but also treasurer of the the eyes of the children full of hollow and hopeful. The two-part film broadcast on Rai1 on 23 and 24 May, a month and a half after the death of Letizia Battagliaand produced by Rai Fiction with Bibi Film Tv in collaboration with Le Pacte is a jewel of direction and heart, a complex work capable of returning the most hidden Battle together with the most public Battle, narrating the lights and shadows of a woman who began to take their first steps in a world where women were not allowed to read or make their voices heard without the risk of being beaten, tortured and, at worst, killed.

To lend her face to this woman who has struggled for years to understand how to be able to transmit her art is one Isabella Ragonese in a state of grace who, in this film, managed to do justice to Letizia’s fighting soul through the smallest details, from the cigarette she held in her hands while pulling the trigger of the camera to that sensitive gaze that, despite the years, does not he never got used to the violence and terror that the mafia has always spread in his city. Looking at Andò’s work it is clear how difficult it was for a woman to break out of the mold of her devoted wife to find her way: the nervous breakdown caused by a life that he had not chosen was the wake-up call for Battaglia to understand that from that moment on he would have to ignore conventions and follow that thirst for story capable of showing everyone the world that he saw through his eyes.

The fear of retaliation for Letizia Battaglia has never been a problem: immortalizing the lifeless bodies killed by the mafia and abandoned in the car or on the street as if they were old shoes was the only thing that mattered to her. Through her black and white shots, Battaglia was able to bring those images outside the walls of Palermo, making it clear to everyone what was going on inside her city, and this is why Andò’s work is a clear example of public service: the fact that Rai moved even before Battaglia’s death to pay homage to his person and his work – the film, on the other hand, sees the participation of Battaglia itself – is a wonderful sign of awareness and depth.

Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you:

Isabella Ragonese: “You are the revolution”

Letizia Battaglia, goodbye to the great photographer

What Letizia Battaglia taught me

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Source: Vanity Fair

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