Tra i ghiacci e le nevi, da Comerio al Tonale

This article proposes an interpretation of the war documentary Tra i ghiacci e le nevi del Tonale (1918) that considers Luca Comerio’s epic La Guerra d’Italia a tremila metri sull’Adamello – produced two years earlier – as both a necessary and, indeed, foreseeable model and source of inspiration. The analysis will offer some reflections on the consolidation of a repertoire of visual themes in a project brought to national screens by the cinematographers of the Royal Italian Army during the final phase of the First World War. The film presents itself as exceptional in terms of content, yet routine in its production ambitions – quite unlike Comerio’s work (produced in collaboration with, among others, his brother Pietro and Paolo Granata), which stands out as deeply personal, innovative, and extraordinary in every respect.