The Earth Trembles

All the men in the Sicilian village of Trezza are fishermen. Every evening, they set out to sea and every morning they return to sell their catches to the traders. In this way, they earn just enough money to survive. It is a difficult life, but the fishermen know and want nothing else. Only Antonio Valestro is troubled by his family's poverty. He was in domestic service in mainland Italy, where he learned the meaning of the word "injustice." Now, in his grandfather's ramshackle house, he sees it from close by. "He's not like us anymore; he thinks differently," explains his brother Cola. Antonio convinces his family to start a business for themselves, meaning that they will be on their own if times get tough. \i The Earth Trembles\i0 is the second of Luchino Visconti's feature films to share characteristics with documentary cinema. As is often the case in Italian neorealist film, the actors are amateurs (described in the opening credits as \i pescatori siliciani\i0 , or Sicilian fishermen), and the film was shot on location. Visconti uses extended wide-frame shots and sparingly deployed close-ups, in which Antonio discusses injustice and a romantic subplot emerges.