One of the finest filmmakers in the history of cinema,Martin Scorsese’s work in the documentary field is often unheralded among mainstream audiences. While most of his nonfiction films are in the realm of music, such as the concert documentary ofThe Band’s swan song performance inThe Last Waltzor an exploration of an inflection point in the life and career ofBob DylaninNo Direction Home, these films are as vital and personal to Scorsese as his narrative pictures. An early documentary of Scorsese’s,Italianamerican, a 49-minute cinematic memoir of his family heritage and Italian origins, featuring a subplot about making homemade meatballs, stands out as the director’s most personal film.
Martin Scorsese’s Parents Have Been Integral Throughout His Filmography
Italianamerican, now distributed as part of “Scorsese Shorts,” the Criterion Collection’sassemblage of evocative and formative short filmsby the director in the 1960s and ’70s, centers around his parents,CharlesandCatherine Scorsese. The two, the former being camera-shy and reserved and the latter being highly affable and expressive, are interviewed by their son in their home in Lower Manhattan. They discuss their experience as Italian immigrants, family heritage, post-war life in Italy, the hardships of growing up impoverished, marriage, and religion. Throughout the film, Catherine reveals her meticulous preparation and cooking process for her prized meatballs.
Up until they died in 1993 and 1997, respectively, Charles and Catherine frequently appeared as cameos in their son’s films. Mr. Scorsese can be seen stirring the tomato sauce in the luxury prison suite inGoodfellasand sitting at a table at the Copacabana inRaging Bull. Mrs. Scorsese can be heard yelling at Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) to quiet down as he indulges in his fantasies inThe King of Comedyand the mother of a wiseguy at a local market who is reprimanded for his excessive profanity inCasino. There is no doubt that the definitive cameo between the two is Catherine’s brilliant performance as Tommy Devito’s (Joe Pesci) mother inGoodfellas, who cooks her son’s crew a full dinner in the middle of the night after, unbeknownst to her, they had just brutally murdered the made man, Billy Batts (Frank Vincent). Scorsese’s 1990 masterpiece excels in authenticity, especially in its demonstration of Italian culture. This is wholly embodied by Scorsese’s mother, as sheimprovised most of her lines in the scene. Catherine eloquently plays a lovable elderly Italian woman with an affectionate heart with an equally acerbic wit. Through one brief scene, she earnestly conveys that she is Tommy’s mother.
‘Italianamerican’ Depicts the Scorsese Family’s Rich Culture
When watchingItalianamerican, it becomes no surprise as to why Catherine Scorsese was so natural and effortless in her genuinely stellar performance inGoodfellas. Her “performance” in this documentary is an expansion of her scene-stealing appearance 16 years later. Early on in the film, Charles reprimands his wife for putting on a theatrical performance for the camera, imploring her to talk naturally. However, viewers quickly get the sense that her boisterous personality is genuine. Catherine replicates the inherent charm and entertainment value that is present in all of Scorsese’s films. In an alternate universe, she could have been a professional raconteur. Charles, while not as effusive on camera, delights in telling stories to his son about his childhood.
Like the best Martin Scorsese films,Italianamericanoperates on a lively pace of spontaneity. The director’s mother begins speaking before the film technically starts, as Scorsese’s crew is still configuring the sound system and lighting. The abrupt title card once Catherine begins to prepare the tomato sauce is reminiscent of thesudden drop ofThe Departed’s title cardthree decades later. When Catherine excuses herself to check on the meatballs and sauce in the kitchen, a sidebar conversation begins between her and Martin. This intercuts with Charles continuing his monologue on the living room couch. In his essay for"Scorsese Shorts" on the Criterion Collection, criticBilge Ebiriwritesthat the split interaction is something “one rarely sees in documentaries, yet it carries the rhythms of real life, as if we’re at an actual party where different conversations are happening in a different room.” The loose structure of the film is evident by the background utterances of Martin directing his mother in real time, asking her to backtrack and start the story at a specific point before she rambles on uncontrollably. During one anecdote of Catherine’s, she is distracted by the sound of someone running down the hallway of their apartment complex.
The pulsating universes in Scorsese’s films immerse the viewer in the enchantment orhorror of the protagonist’s surroundings. InItalianamerican, Scorsese is actively “establishing the warmth of his settings,” writes Ebiri. Through minimal direction, he makes every viewer feel completely at home when Scorsese and his parents are sitting on the couch or at the dinner table. Family photos and archive footage of the neighborhood are sporadically inserted in the film while stories are being recited. Ebiri writes “The cutaways are quick, giving these moments the cadence of fleeting thoughts.” Learning about his parents' marriage and their upbringing in Italy and Manhattan is indelible, but there is nothing overtly profound about their anecdotes. Rather, because the two are electric as raconteurs,Italianamericanis pure delicious comfort food, just like Catherine’s cooking.
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“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to make great documentaries.”
‘Italianamerican’ Shows Martin Scorsese Reflecting on Himself Through His Parents' Stories
More than a decisive statement on the nature of being an Italian-American immigrant, Scorsese’s documentary is areflective portrait on the director’s part. Through the framing of his parents' gracious storytelling, he is reflecting on his Italian heritage and, most poignantly, the hardships that they faced growing up in a poor neighborhood. This state of personal mediation in the context of the Scorsese family history is realized in the juxtaposition of Martin’s profession to the impoverished childhood of Charles and Catherine. Their parents had to work grueling labor just to put food on the table for their kids. The idea of anyone in the Scorsese family pursuing film, let alone any form of art, as a profession was incomprehensible. Charles often romanticizes storytelling as the art form of his pastime. In his childhood, living in tight quarters with eight other people, storytelling was the sole art form and only method of expression.
Because the film is disinterested in a grand thesis on the state of being an Italian-American, Scorsese is free to explore the personality of his parents. Upon hearing story after story of the struggles of blue-collar life and the towering influence of Catholicism and family values, Catherine and Charles reveal themselves as the two sides of Scorsese as a filmmaker. The general perceptiveness and fascination with the surrounding world that enhances Scorsese’s films are symbolic of his mother, not to mention the freewheeling expression of character and culture. The director’s attention to detail, evident in the ways his characters dress and behave, is indebted to Catherine’s proud heritage.
On the flip side, Charles represents the sobering reflection of one’s identity that isprevalent in Scorsese’s filmography. He is vulnerable about how his environment shaped him as a human being. While he is not curmudgeonly about his old-fashioned lifestyle, his stories about his family fermenting their own wine and persevering against the woes of the Great Depression evoke an inescapable devotion to the past.Italianamericantakes its most solemn turn when Charles and Catherine discuss all the shops and markets that were forced to shut their doors due to the Depression, as well as the sobering realization that the house that Charles' father built vanished–a monument of his childhood that is now replaced by trees and grass. All Charles has to bear is a fleeting memory. This phenomenon is identifiable in Scorsese’s distraught examination of morality inThe Irishman.
The film’s theoretical climax involves Catherine reciting an anecdote about a time when her mother was frustrated by the presence of a fig tree in her yard after Catherine’s father fell from it, and wishing that the tree would die. “And then, of course, my mother became ill,” Catherine said, “and the next winter she passed away, and the trees never bloomed anymore. It was just like she took them with her, and that was that,” she said, as the story concludes with a freeze-frame of her face in a portrait. This visual cue and mantra of “and that was that” as a streamlining of the progression of life is true to Scorsese’s thematic tendencies. A variation of that phrase, “and that’s that,” is uttered inGoodfellasby Vinnie after the revenge-slaying of Tommy. Vinnie is played by Charles Scorsese.
Italianamericanis a fitting companion piece ofMean Streets, as both films embrace the cultural legacy of Martin Scorsese. With his hidden gem documentary, he displays the warmth and comfort of his Italian family with the samekinetic energy as his depictions of violence. In caseItalianamericanwasn’t succulent enough as a romanticized time capsule and a heartwarming tribute to Scorsese’s parents, the recipe for Catherine Scorsese’s tomato sauce is included in the film’s end credits.
