The Postman, an Italian film from British director Michael Radford (White Mischief, The Elixir), is a charming piece of cinema that takes several comfortable formulas and expands upon them in ingenious and emotionally-satisfying ways. There's a little of everything here: poetry, politics, humor, love, and heartbreak. Best of all, these elements flow together seamlessly in a production characterized by solid acting, balanced pacing, and eye-catching cinematography.

Mario (played by the late Italian writer/director/actor Massimo Troisi) is a postman in a fishing village on a small island off the coast of Italy. Arriving there in 1953 is famed Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (Philippe Noiret), exiled from his native country for espousing communist doctrine. Mario is curious about this new resident who, despite his advancing age, has a seemingly magical power over women. Eventually, after delivering Neruda's mail for a while, he gets up the courage to engage the poet in a conversation about writing. This begins an unusual collaboration, with Mario providing a sounding board for Neruda's ideas and Neruda teaching Mario about poetry and its relationship to life.