A note on this presentation: LE QUATTRO VOLTE has virtually no dialogue and is meant to be presented with no English subtitles. This film may be enjoyed by deaf audiences as well.

Michelangelo Frammartino’s stunning LE QUATTRO VOLTE is a cinematic representation of Pythagoras’ four-fold transmigration, which states that a soul passes through four stages, from human to animal to vegetable to mineral. Depicting such metaphysical topics is not an easy task, but Frammartino pulls this off with considerable ease, plenty of humour, tender emotions and a pinch of mystery. No wonder, then, that the film rightly won the Director’s Fortnight prize in Cannes 2010.

The film, set in a beautiful town in Calabria, kicks off with the story of an aging goat herder with a nagging cough. One day, the herder misplaces his medicine, which leads to a deterioration in his health and allows his goats to literally take over the town. Life returns to normal in the second phase, a funny and heartfelt segment, which highlights the life of a baby goat. The fate of the goat paves the way for the final two phases, which are tied with the town’s rituals and way of life. As early setups pay off in later segments, LE QUATTRO VOLTE reveals itself as an intricate and bold reflection on the circle of life.