Mauro Corona - The Pine Needle Trail
The lives of the two siblings, protagonists of Mauro Corona's new novel, aren't just different; they're irreconcilable. Raised amidst the breath of the forest and the stark, stark gaze of the mountain peaks, the boy and girl were taught by their grandfather, a mountaineer with ancient wisdom. He tried to instill in them both a respect for nature in all its forms and the value of good hard work, the kind that makes every achievement precious. Yet, now that they're adults, and that shared journey is behind them, the two have made different choices. She, combining scientific studies with the natural remedies preserved by the elders of her native village, has prioritized environmental protection and developed a pure and uncompromising environmental sensibility. He, who always flouted his grandfather's warnings, has set himself less noble goals, and has turned his profound knowledge of trees into an opportunity for profit. Thus, if for his sister the felling of a forest is an unforgivable affront and a foolish self-condemnation for man, for him it is the normal consequence of progress, the fruit of the unstoppable evolution that places human beings and their needs at the center of everything. Withdrawn into his den, among the books and sculptures that have remained to keep him company now that exhaustion has distanced him from the peaks, the old man observes this somewhat lost new generation, with concern but also with the benevolence of one who believes that, if the roots are good, all is not lost. Mauro Corona knows how to be both a poet of a fading past and a sentinel of a future full of unknowns. In this impassioned fable, he explores the contradictions that underlie the relationship between man and nature, with the gaze of one who, from the mountaintops, foresees the coming storm, but also the first glimmer of sunshine.
A Mondadori production, Erto, October 2025
Director: Claudio Sforza
Camera Operator: Gabriele Marabini
Editing: Alessandro Freno
Sound Engineer: Marco Casati
Executive Directors: Jacopo Milesi, Nadia Focile, Cecilia Palazzi
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