FILMS. 4th EDItION KAOS enarists Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, like their older english coun- though, like Pirandello,'s works, contain universal elements that terparts Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, have uniquely transcend the superficial quaintness of the stories. created through their writing and directing duality some of the most Of the four tales. "The Other Son. ' ''Moon sickness. ' '"The innovative films of the last decade Jar, and"Requiem, the story of a lonely wife and her husband who Though the brothers began working as a team in the mid-1950s, becomes insane during the full moon, is considered the best. The brief their international fame was not well established until the release of segment before "The Other Son"sets the somber pace of the film and Padre padrone in 1977. Night of the Shooting Stars(1983), coming introduces the signature of the flying crow which is seen throughout after their reputations had grown, was also an international critical the other segments, threading them together. The epilogue complet the cycle with Pirandello himself (played by the Taviani favorite Thus their 1984 film Kaos, loosely adapted by themselves and Omero Antonutti) conversing with his mother about a pleasant Co-writer Tonino Guerra from short stories contained in Luigi Piran- experience from her childhood. llos Novelle per un anno, was chosen to close the 1985 New York Though each segment is filmed in the aesthetic starkness typical of Film Festival. Though it was not a resounding success and was not the Tavianis' work (which might appropriately be labelled"neo-neo generally released in the U.S., some critics ranked it above the Realism), they are peppered with Pirandello's ironic fatalism Taviani's previous works. things are what they are, yet not as they seem; the lines between sanity For Kaos, the Tavianis utilized the infrequently seen compendium and order and chaos and insanity cannot be distinctly drawn. His format, separate short films loosely tied together by a theme or locale. stories reflect characteristics of his reg Kaos, a title taken from the greek word for chaos, which formed the make-up of the characters and their sociological choices can be linguistic root of the name for an area near Pirandello's birthplace in parallelled in any time or age Sicily, consists of four separate stories, a prologue, and an epilogue The Tavianis have taken the currents of the pirandello stories if ach illustrating aspects of Sicilian life. These cinematic folk tales, not their exact content, and elaborated them in a simple, muted style,FILMS, 4 KAOS th EDITION 627 Kaos scenarists Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, like their older English coun￾terparts Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, have uniquely created through their writing and directing duality some of the most innovative films of the last decade. Though the brothers began working as a team in the mid-1950s, their international fame was not well established until the release of Padre padrone in 1977. Night of the Shooting Stars (1983), coming after their reputations had grown, was also an international critical success. Thus their 1984 film Kaos, loosely adapted by themselves and co-writer Tonino Guerra from short stories contained in Luigi Piran￾dello’s Novelle per un anno, was chosen to close the 1985 New York Film Festival. Though it was not a resounding success and was not generally released in the U.S., some critics ranked it above the Taviani’s previous works. For Kaos, the Tavianis utilized the infrequently seen compendium format, separate short films loosely tied together by a theme or locale. Kaos, a title taken from the Greek word for chaos, which formed the linguistic root of the name for an area near Pirandello’s birthplace in Sicily, consists of four separate stories, a prologue, and an epilogue, each illustrating aspects of Sicilian life. These cinematic folk tales, though, like Pirandello’s works, contain universal elements that transcend the superficial quaintness of the stories. Of the four tales, ‘‘The Other Son,’’ ‘‘Moon Sickness,’’ ‘‘The Jar,’’ and ‘‘Requiem,’’ the story of a lonely wife and her husband who becomes insane during the full moon, is considered the best. The brief segment before ‘‘The Other Son’’ sets the somber pace of the film and introduces the signature of the flying crow which is seen throughout the other segments, threading them together. The epilogue completes the cycle with Pirandello himself (played by the Taviani favorite Omero Antonutti) conversing with his mother about a pleasant experience from her childhood. Though each segment is filmed in the aesthetic starkness typical of the Tavianis’ work (which might appropriately be labelled ‘‘neo-neo Realism’’), they are peppered with Pirandello’s ironic fatalism: things are what they are, yet not as they seem; the lines between sanity and order and chaos and insanity cannot be distinctly drawn. His stories reflect characteristics of his region, but the psychological make-up of the characters and their sociological choices can be parallelled in any time or age. The Tavianis have taken the currents of the Pirandello stories, if not their exact content, and elaborated them in a simple, muted style