The Profession of Arms (Italian: Il mestiere delle armi) is a 2001 Italian film directed by Ermanno Olmi.
Contents
Plot
In autumn 1526, during the War of the League of Cognac, Emperor Charles V sends veteran general Georg von Frundsberg with an army of German Landsknechte to march towards Rome. The outnumbered papal armies, commanded by Giovanni de' Medici, try to chase them in the midst of a harsh winter, relying on hit-and-run raids on the Imperial supply trains in order to delay their march.
Federico II Gonzaga, the Marquis of Mantua, intent on avoiding war in his domain, allows the Imperial armies to pass through his fortifications at Curtatone, denying passage a few hours later to the papal troops. The Imperial army reaches Ferrara, where Alfonso I d'Este provides Frundsberg with four falconets capable of piercing any type of armor, in exchange for the marriage of his heir to an Imperial princess.
The exhausted papal army manages to reach an Imperial detachment at Governolo, where de' Medici intends to capture Frundsberg. In the ensuing skirmish, de' Medici is wounded in the leg by a falconet shot and transported to Mantua. The attempts to cure his infected wound fail and he dies of sepsis. The Imperial armies assault Rome.
The film ends straightforwardly with the declaration made after the death of Giovanni de' Medici by the commanders of the armies in Europe of ceasing to use firearms because of their cruelty.
Cast
Hristo Zhivkov - Giovanni de Medici
Sergio Grammatico - Federico Gonzaga
Dimitar Rachkov - Luc'Antonio Cuppano
Fabio Giubbani - Matteo Cusastro
Sasa Vulicevic - Pietro Aretino
Desislava Tenekedjieva - Maria Salviati de Medici
Sandra Ceccarelli - Nobildonna di Mantova
Franco Andreani - Ambasciatore di Carlo V
Awards
9 David di Donatello Awards (Best Film - Best Director: Ermanno Olmi - Best Screenplay: Ermanno Olmi - Best Producer: Luigi Musini, Roberto Cicutto and Ermanno Olmi - Best Production Design: Luigi Marchione - Best Cinematography: Fabio Olmi - Best Costume Design: Francesca Sartori - Best Editing: Paolo Cottignola - Best Music: Fabio Vacchi)
3 Nastro d'Argento Prizes (Best Production Design: Luigi Marchione - Best Cinematography: Fabio Olmi - Best Costume Design: Francesca Sartori)
Palme d'Or (nominated) - 2001 Cannes Film Festival