Synopsis
Olga Valcauda raises dairy cows in Valle Elvo, northwest of Biella (Piedmont).
She is an only child and is about forty years old. He lived from October to the end of April in the family farmhouse in Sordevolo, together with his elderly mother. From May he moved with his herd to the mountain pasture and spent six months of work and solitude there.
Part One: Morning Minimum Epic
Valle Elvo, June 2006, from 5.30 to 10.00. Olga's dawn is marked by the natural times of things: the time it takes for cows to graze, the time for boiling milk, for cheese curds. Her gestures express the essential and pragmatic charm of a centuries-old tradition, the gaze on her seems to recall an elegiac relationship with the world, a dimension of listening in real time. In a sort of "space-time enclave", somewhere in the mountains of Biella (Alpe La Pissa, Valle Elvo).
Part Two: Afternoon Equinox
After a summary of the spring transhumance, the "afternoon equinox" catches Olga at the summer pasture intent on preparing lunch and, in parallel, the elderly mother who, down in the village, follows the cooking and melting of handmade soap. The afternoon passes under the looming thunderstorm; Olga maintains pasture, irrigates the lawn, does small jobs. The clouds gather and the woman waits for the rain together with the dog Baldi.
Part Three: Elegy of the Evening
The afternoon starts slowly and quietly. Sparrows, magpies, crickets and cicadas are a counterpoint to the roar of the stream. From time to time a chainsaw in the distance engraves the sound plane with its crackling irregularities. The sun is yellow and enveloping. Olga resumes work methodically. Perimeter the limits of the pasture and stick stakes on the ground to pull the electric wire that will dissuade the cows from trespassing. With the usual ritual calm, Olga cleans the barn, makes butter with a churn, mows hay, bathes flowers, dinner. Engrossed, tired and far-sighted, she placidly scrutinizes the plain flashing with lights and distances. It is the evening of an ordinary day, a June 27 of a perpetual calendar. The woman leaves to silence every comment, every acknowledgment of an immobile and salvific time.
Credits
Epic morning minimum
Directed by: Manuele Cecconello. Room: M. Cecconello, Claudio Pidello. Director of photography: M. Cecconello. Location manager: C. Pidello. Technical assistance: Riccardo Giletta. Editing: M. Cecconello. Assembly consultancy: Enrico Terrone. Music: Arvo Pärt, Alfred Schnittke. Production: Nevsky Prospekt 2007. Running time: 56 minutes.
Afternoon equinox
Directed by: Manuele Cecconello. Room: M. Cecconello, Claudio Pidello. Director of photography: M. Cecconello. Sound design: M. Cecconello. Editing: M. Cecconello. Assembly consultancy: Pier Paolo Giarolo, Enrico Terrone. Music: J. S. Bach, Giulio Monaco. Production: Nevsky Prospekt 2008. Duration: 75 minutes.
Elegy of the evening
Directed by: Manuele Cecconello. Room: M. Cecconello, Claudio Pidello. Director of photography: M. Cecconello. Sound design: M. Cecconello. Editing: M. Cecconello. Assembly consultancy: Enrico Terrone. Music: traditional Piedmontese songs interpreted by Betty Zambruno, Paola Lombardo, Donata Pinti. Production: Nevsky Prospekt 2008-2013. Duration: 40 minutes.