Alice Rohrwacher's 'Happy as Lazzaro' (2018) is a mesmerizing blend of social realism and magical fable that earned the Cannes Best Screenplay award. The film follows Lazzaro, a preternaturally kind young peasant living with his family in the isolated rural community of Inviolata, which operates under a feudal system of exploitation by the tobacco-owning Marquise Alfonsina de Luna. Lazzaro's unwavering goodness and innocence become the film's moral compass as he forms an unlikely friendship with the Marquise's rebellious son, Tancredi.

The narrative takes a breathtaking, surreal turn halfway through, transporting Lazzaro through time and confronting him with a radically changed world. This structural daring elevates the film from a simple critique of exploitation to a profound meditation on modernity, displacement, and the persistence of human innocence in a cynical age. Adriano Tardiolo delivers a remarkable performance in his acting debut as Lazzaro, his open face conveying depths of emotion without sentimentality.

Rohrwacher's direction is masterful, employing 16mm film to create a textured, timeless visual quality that perfectly suits the story's folkloric tone. The supporting cast, including Alba Rohrwacher as the Marquise and Luca Chikovani as Tancredi, provide excellent counterpoints to Lazzaro's purity. Viewers should watch 'Happy as Lazzaro' for its unique cinematic vision—a film that manages to be both a pointed social critique and a genuinely moving spiritual parable about what we lose and what might endure as societies transform.