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20 June1929
Hydroscale
Author
Guglielmo Baldassini
Format
9,5mm
Credits
Music by Lea Keyaert - Mix audio by Théophile Gagnard | Biennio di Musica da Film del Conservatorio di Musica di Bologna

When Luciano Baldassini and his son Luciano, on 20 June 1929, embarked on this trip a few kilometres from the centre of Milan, heading east, the area they were exploring, among waterways and sand pits, was destined for the Idroscalo, which had not yet been completed. We are in a phase that sees the emergence of these stretches of water, artificial lakes for seaplanes to land on, as essential spaces for the future of civil aviation. In Lombardy's capital city, very few seaplanes were to be seen, and the Idroscalo's function would remain only in name, as the place would have an entirely different destination: some would even call it the 'sea of Milan' (Linate airport would be built nearby). The landscape explored by the Baldassini family is in transformation and still appears 'undecided' with respect to its future: the film opens by showing a dredger, used to extract sand, an operation necessary to create the artificial lake. This gigantic machine, although stationary, cannot help but attract Luciano and the camera. Baldassini is always attentive to the landscape, and we could say that he is a storyteller in images of Milan in the late 1920s, but this time the pure kinetic emotion of his son's bicycle ride filmed in motion: this is probably one of Luciano's first cycling performances, wearing an improvised headgear. Again the child, with the ducks also flying and landing in the water. So better to be content with chasing the waterfowl in the rivulets, which for now give more satisfaction than the flying machines that - it is said - will arrive on this hot June day.

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