Random neural activity

I was in Bologna today, and as in the end I had some spare time I visited the “Chaplin in pictures” exhibition (there is also an official website in Italian). The exhibition is part of Chapliniana, a range of events dedicated to Charlie Chaplin, also including live orchestral screenings during the summer evenings.

The exhibition is very interesting, retracing both personal and artistic lives of the great actor/director/producer/composer (yes, he even composed the music!). You can see a very young Chaplin leaving London and starting his career in the USA, and follow step by step how the person and his main character , The Tramp, refined their shape year after year. Pictures, video extracts and texts bring you inside a different space/time dimension. Some screen-shots you’re already familiar with, some others are a pleasant discovery.

I particularly appreciated the way Chaplin dealt with the technical advancement of sound. The Tramp was a silent character, and spoke a mostly peculiar body language. Chaplin refused to make him talk, it would have spoiled everything. In one movie The Tramp has to sing, and a way is found to let him use his voice without actually using words…

I still have several of his masterworks in my to-watch list, and now I’m also eager of reading his autobiography.