 happy as lazzaro lazzaro is a beautiful peasant whose sweet nature finds people mistaking him for simpleminded happily doing the bidding of anyone in his local village an insular community the village is ruled over by the cruellaesque marchesa who hasn t let on that sharecropping is no longer legal set apart from the world by a bridge that no one can be bothered to fix life here looks like it is unfolding a century ago save for the odd walkman and 1990sera dance music film director alice rohrwacher featured festivals bfi london film festival 