Lisa McLean

Happy as Lazzaro explores a number of themes but I only wish to focus on the one that stood out to me the most: naivety. Lazzaro is an infinitely kind and dutiful young man who is one of 54 workers being exploited on a tobacco farm in central Italy by a rich and unforgiving woman. This woman confesses to her entitled and grandiose son that she is exploiting the workers, she also adds that the workers (Lazzaro's own family) are exploiting Lazzaro. After all, it's how the world works. Since Lazzaro is loyal, responsive and helpful without question he is taken advantage of by most people. But he never really seems to notice what is happening. Some might say he is simple-minded, others might call it extreme naivety. After all, he was born into a community where no one has any idea that they are slaves and that the way they have been treated all of their lives is illegal. Perhaps Lazzaro is simply a more purified version of those that he lives with. A series of events (tilted toward a more fantastical storyline) separates Lazzaro from his community until he travels to the city where he unexpectedly reunites with them. This is when his unwavering innocence becomes more stark in contrast to the city dwellers. It's as though he is unable to fathom anything more complex than unquestioned duty and outright honesty. It's as though he is completely ignorant of the existence of malevolence, even though it has plagued his entire life. For me, this film highlighted the dangers of ignorance and striving to be "good". It is one thing to be a loyal, obliging dog and another to be a loyal, obliging dog that bites.