Sicilia!

Excellent Straub-Huillet adaption, in 1998, of dialogues from a novel by d’Elio Vittorini
Opens with harsh contrasting, almost late-Godard like silhouette framing, and nice simple dialogue. Again use of shot-reverse of a kind, here and throughout, to isolate.
Repeat of this shot on the train, then move to something Straub-Huillet frankly hardly ever do; getting quite close on the face. Work with shadows and sharp light to create quite an effect. This film is, in a way, a comedy (a little like ‘The Time That Remains’ dialogue?)
The move to the central scene with the mother looks like a classic Straub-Huillet scene. Some overhead shots, flicks of black between cuts. Use of assymetrical framings, and not moving the camera even when a character goes out of shot. Very specific light and dark thrown on the characters.
Again, the closest comparisons are with the wide-angles and high/low angles Orson Welles, and with the enveloping darkness the expressionist set. Some quite dynamic compositions at times. The long dialogue stretches remain, as despite these comparisons it all does, very singular.
Final scene more open, characters again assymetrically framed and caught in the world. Again some humour, and an effective rounding off.
Obviously, for whatever reason, this film is rather... more like other films. It is also rather goo, a short work that has a lot up its sleeve, a visual panache and a masterful control. Excellent.