Masterful Movie

A Brilliant Conflict

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Just loved it. A bit tired of the so called Italian comedies, where overacting is the rule and characters are way too close to parody, I found in this movie the necessary counterpoint to that kind of easy, predictable cinema which is so popular. So popular that even Mr Mastroianni and Mrs Loren are better know for their roles in any of those movies than for their amazing performances in a little jewel like this one. Because that's what this film is: a little jewel. Simple and discreet, yet complex and rich. The plot is quite straight forward, but that's not the point. What's important here is not the story in itself, but the way it's told. Behind the rough appearance, a lot of technical thinking, ideas, decisions. Beautiful performances, studied photography, surprising soundtrack: nothing is left to chance here, though it might seem so. That's what makes masterpieces so special: they look light but they are loaded with humanity. PS- Loved also the comment by the self declared Art Barbarian. At least the guy's aware of his condition! Mamma mia

Why isn't there a decent copy of this movie available? This brilliant cinematic event (has anyone ever figured out that opening shot?) gets bad reviews on Amazon because they only seem to sell bootleg copies of VHS-tapes, it's a shame. The only possible explanation I can think of is that the distributors expect this movie not to sell. If you are a beer-drinking, big game hunting, football-obsessed, wife-beating American executive would you be able to sell me a movie about a loser? No. For the same same reason you drive (ride) an F150 and you will never be able to get near a Peugeot or a Fiat. This particular movie is a great example of how movies are cultural markers exposing elements of a culture that is in a way a modern version a the Roman empire. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hater, I still think there are more positives than negatives in the US, I'm still here, aren't I, but when it comes to the American macho culture I have to pass. What we see in this movie is the acceptance of a homosexual man. Note, there is no such thing as gay-life style or demands for gay- marriage. Because many people are still incapable of accepting men like Gabriele gay life in this country has been socially segregated, don't ask don't tell in the workplace, in your own area you can do whatever you want. You have to be that F150 guy otherwise you will not make it here. If I had a billion dollars I would have that movie broadcast as a superbowl commercial.

May 1938. Hitler in Italy. Preparations for historical appointment with Mussolini.Emotions , tensions and forms of self-affirmation. a empty town, a housewife and a journalist. The meeting of two different worlds. Refuge for a mother with a sad life. Short filling for a classical victim. A story about solitude and silence. About the form of of life's nooks and desire like fight's form. The great character- a book gifted in a spring's afternoon. This movie is a poem, remarkable for the art to describe the shades of common loneliness. A pleading for a ineffable relation with reality. And with your interior world. The pictures of Il Duce, the clumsiness of Antonietta, the patience and the frailty tension of Gabriele, the art of director to give the sense of script grace two great actors makes this film sublime, foretaste of subtle delicacy, a wonderful film about hypocrisy and arbitrary verdict, about essence of life and repulsiveness of any tyranny. Loren and Mastroianni are the masters of a magnificent intelligent acting. A clear masterpiece.

This film makes a strong comment about the Italian people of the time. The use of the mirrors to enhance the revelations of the characters is lovely and I can't not mention the beauty and magnificence of Sophia Loren and Mastroianni. I love them both. Their way of interacting is so beautiful and natural that you may question whether or not the camera is actually there. The husband, in his brief role, is also excellently portrayed as the fascist Italian who commands his wife and children but, in his own way, a loving father. The beginning scenes with Hitler at Piazza Venezia with all the Italians is incredible and really places the film historically. I loved the film and I also agree that it is funny it isn't more renowned.