The Medici
The Medici is quite a lovely to watch, as might be expected of a film that depicts the creation of renowned artwork. Surprisingly little still imagery is employed. Instead, the documentary relies on stylized recreations of people and events: artists at work, street-fights and assassinations, and even battles as the Medici struggle to regain their hold over Florence and keep their hold on the Papacy. These are not full dramatizations—they are mostly silent, and the actors do not speak dialogue. Instead, voice-over narration provides explanations, interspersed by occasional on-screen scholarly commentators. Perhaps the greatest limitation to this approach is that not everything can be neatly explained. The screenplay makes numerous veiled references to political and military events (Charles V’s invasion of Italy, the Wars of the Religion in France), which will either wash over the attention of most viewers or, worse, confuse them. Educators using this film in the classroom might wish to pause at these points and explain these oblique references.
The Medici would be appropriate for high school and college classrooms; middle-school educators may be taken aback at the bloodiness of many scenes. In total, the documentary is nearly four hours long. Fortunately for educators interested in bringing the film into the classroom, each part is just under 55 minutes and can stand alone without requiring the other parts.
Scott Metzger Pennsylvania State University sam59@psu.edu
