-Written by Marty Coney.
It is not proper for a child to go through their parents' drawers. You never know what you will find or if you are old enough to understand the significance of what you found in The Secret Drawer.
The Secret Drawer is an Italian documentary by Director Costanza Quatriglio that chronicles the life of her father Giuseppe Quantriglio, a famed journalist and writer who travelled all over the world covering some of the biggest events of the 20th century. Sadly during the filming of the documentary Giuseppe passed away, leaving Costanza with no other option than to open The Secret Drawer.
During a career spanning over 70 years Giuseppe rubbed shoulders with world leaders and Hollywood elites, covering stories from the fall of fascism in Germany and the flights into West Berlin to keep the people of Berlin alive during the blockade and the eventual building of the Berlin Wall. He moved to America in the 1960s to cover the NASA Moon program. His life was filled with love and passion for telling stories, always searching for the truth.
The Secret Drawer is full of home video-style vignettes that were captured by Giuseppe on his many camcorders and photos. Beautifully narrated by Costanza you can feel the love and admiration she had for her father. She tries to construct the life of the man from before she was born. She says at one point that we arrogantly assume our parent's life begins the minute we are born, but Giuseppe had lived through enough experiences to last several lifetimes.
After Giuseppe died in 2017 Costanza decided to donate his works to the Palermo library where his work can be categorised and stored for future study. Costanza invites a team of librarians and historians into her family home where they attack her father's many bookshelves and storage spaces; her words for what is happening to a lifetime of work. They devour everything with meticulous efficiency. We see a house at the beginning that looks like one more book could topple it and cause an avalanche of books to slowly disappear into empty rooms as Costanza learns more and more about her hero and father.
The Secret Drawer is a deeply personal documentary that Costanza lovingly shares with the world. The grace she shows as her parents' entire lives are scrupulously combed through and boxed up and sent away is impressive. Rooms that are stocked from floor to ceiling with stories and books become empty spaces that haven't been seen since the late 1960s. Home videos and audio recordings of a family that loved each other deeply are shared then sent away to storage.
Edited by Letizia Caudullo who sadly passed away just before the premiere in Berlin, The Secret Door flawlessly transitions between footage from the 1940s to modern-day. Unfortunately, as it's a personal story of a daughter discovering who her father is it starts to feel its runtime. We skim over the biggest events of the 20th century at breakneck speed. It's not really a story of the events of a century that saw two world wars, multiple assassinations, the Moon Landings and much more, but of a daughter learning about who her dad was.
Written and Directed by Costanza Quatriglio.
Starring Costanza Quatriglio, Giuseppe Quatriglio.
6/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE
Comments