Complete credited cast: | |||
Sophia Loren | ... | Antonietta Taberi | |
Marcello Mastroianni | ... | Gabriele | |
John Vernon | ... | Emanuele Taberi | |
Françoise Berd | ... | Concierge | |
Patrizia Basso | ... | Romana Taberi | |
Tiziano De Persio | ... | Arnaldo Taberi | |
Maurizio Di Paolantonio | ... | Fabio Taberi | |
Antonio Garibaldi | ... | Littorio Taberi | |
Vittorio Guerrieri | Beige Frosted Low Pull AgooLar Toe Boots Heels Solid Round Women's On XqZPZvUO... | Umberto Taberi | |
Alessandra Mussolini | ... | Maria Luisa Taberi | |
Nicole Magny | ... | Officer's Daughter |
It's the late 1930's Rome. It's a national holiday in Italy today for the first state visit of Adolf Hitler to the country. The occasion is being marked by a lavish parade with both Hitler and Benito Mussolini to celebrate their political friendship/alliance in the name of fascism. Most of the Roman populace will attend the parade to celebrate with their leader. Two that will not be are the following. Antonietta Taberi, who would have liked to have gone to the parade, has to stay at home to attend to her domestic chores in duty to her husband Emanuele and their six children, all who have gone to the parade without her. Gabriele is a former announcer on Italian Public Radio. Despite living in the same apartment complex (Gabriele only for the last two months) with their apartment windows facing each other across the courtyard, Antonietta and Gabriele meet for the first time today in Antonietta's need to access his apartment to retrieve her escaped myna bird. Their encounter is important... Written by Huggo
I just saw this film for the second time today, and for the first time in the movies (it was a release of a new print).
I found it even more beautiful than the first time, if that is possible. The most striking thing about it, from a cinematic point of view, is that everything is so simple. Two people: a tired housewife and a homosexual unemployed radio-announcer. Two actors: Loren and Mastroianni. One empty building. A fascist parade going on outside. And with just this elements Scola constructs a beautiful and touching masterpiece.
Today, you can see films with far more technical resources, wonderful locations, enormous casts and complex storylines - yet they rarely if ever achieve the level of beauty of something like this. Does beauty lie in simplicity? Or is it Scola who makes it seem so easy? I wonder. Other films by Scola (`Brutti, Sporchi, Cattivi', `Il Viaggio del Capitan Fracassa', etc.) are also very good, but this is the best one.
By the way, I once saw Mr. Ettore Scola in person (he came to Brazil for a conference) and he seemed to be a very kind and sympathetic soul, just as one would expect.