MartinHafer I have a bit of warning for the tender-hearted. This is a realistic portrait of peasant life and as such you'll see a couple animals butchered on-screen. A pig and goose are killed and some might find this pretty disturbing...but it is realistic and is an important part of peasant life.This film is sort of a more modern Neo-realist sort of film because like the Neo-realist films of the 1940s and early 1950s, it is an Italian film that consists of non-professional actors in natural settings. However, the reason why this was done is quite different. During the time of WWII and post-war Italy, sets and actors were hard to come by and directors (such as De Sica and Rossellini) had no choice but to make these sorts of films. However, in 1978 the film was made this way for entirely different reasons--to heighten the sense of realism as the film was about simple folks and having professionals playing these roles might have detracted from this realism.The film is set on a farming collective owned by a landlord. Five families work the land and share a large compound broken down into separate apartments and stables. The life is pretty simple and rather grim and the film does a very good job of portraying this life. And this is much of the problem with this film for the average viewer. While history teachers like me might find it all pretty fascinating and like how accurately this is all portrayed, will the average viewer? Probably not. That's because not all that actually happens in the film---and it lasts about three hours. As a result, the film does drag and I even found myself feeling sleepy as I watched. It's exceptionally well crafted but also a bit of a chore to view."Tree of Wooden Clogs" is a film that film critics will adore but the average person will probably hate...and many folks will feel guilty because they didn't 'get' the movie and think they should have.

Atreyu_II This starts off as a well made, nice Italian film. But shortly after its first 20 minutes, there is this scene of a pig getting mutilated ALIVE. That is something I can't stand watching. As if it wasn't enough what they do to these and other poor animals in real life, they also did it in the name of a film? And knowing that the animal was gutted for real makes me cringe even more. So much cruelty on the animals, makes me wanna cry and feel ashamed of being human and eating meat.This horrible part with the pig nearly made me stop watching the movie right there, but I still managed to watch the rest of the thing. After this awful scene, the movie improves a lot and becomes generally good but later it gets somewhat boring and dull. Besides, it's very long (3 hours). Even if the whole movie was good or even excellent, the pig scene alone prevents me from liking it or recommend it.This film has still some clues from the popular Italian neorealism: it's a take on the life of the poor ones and the cast consists in real farmers and locals instead of actors.Apparently this is Al Pacino's favorite film. He didn't directly say it was his favorite, however when questioned what was his favorite film, he revealed that he «always liked 'The Tree Of Wooden Clogs'».

Ana Yeah, if it did not contain real killing of animals it would be my greatest film of all the times. Thus I give just two points to it. I'd rather give it ten points but I simply cannot.This film is real masterpiece of neorealism. The most exciting film I've ever seen. Minutious in every detail. Shows how tense and frustrating is the life of common man. How actually common people aren't but a livestock of the rich.The metaphor with wooden clogs is hits the point. I will always remember picture of child walking barefoot on muddy road. Some are born with power to castigate. Some are born without chance to change anything.

anna-k-2 Yes, it lasts three hours. Yes, it is about a village community where nothing much happens. Not your typical man save-woman blow-up joint scenario, definitely. All this is said on the package, therefore I truly do not understand people who criticise this film for slowness. OF COURSE it is going to be slow, what do you expect? After this private note, some review. The film is excellent and highly recommendable for many reasons. First of all, the shooting: the use of non-professional actors,authentic settings and a real-life focus makes this film feel like a documentary, although it is set over a hundred years in the past. It therefore gives an unprecedented opportunity to peek into the life of rural Lombardy at the turn of the centuries. Secondly, the plot. Slow as it is, it sucks you in nonetheless, as you get emotionally involved with the beautifully depicted community of families. Full of small and big dramas, the film does not cease to surprise till the very end. Finally, perhaps the biggest asset of the movie is the loving, but realistic depiction of the times. There is dirt, hard work and cow dung, but there is also nature, family, and most importantly - love. If you speak some Italian, the additional perk is the beautiful dialect. Highly, highly recommend!