Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

ilustra-neuropixel Then it was Italians for the Swiss. Recent it was Romanians for the Italians. And now the Chinese for the Romanians. This movie talks about the courage and the naivety of becoming a foreigner in the endless search for "the better". In the end...it remains a search and that is because we are not moving from a country to another inside ourselves. We are keeping the same place there: the place called "us- who we really are". The search remains without meaning, without result if we can't understand the importance of looking at us and understand the cultural and spiritual significance of our core. The story: An Italian becomes an immigrant in Sweetland, in search for what his country can't give to him and his family; financial stability. Here he has to face new and continuous challenges, even greater than the ones he had to face in his country and son... the hero finds himself fighting with destiny itself who seem to have made a job out of the continuous effort of putting Nino down and tryings to show him who he is and that he must not forget what the reason is for his presence in the semi-adoptive country. A drama full of comic and hilarious situations where the director really knows what is the difference between comic and drama and how to put them next to each other without failing to send the message. But more important, the comic is on the highest standard of intelligence; simple and efficient as you expect from a movie that has cinematic power inside as well as an important theme to explore and expose: immigration. The acting is incredible and all the actors manage to deliver it to the highest expectations. Nino Manfredi is exceptional and extremely well distributed in this role created with the sensibility for abstract. A movie to remain in history before and after all the countries will merge into one.

Jackstone54 When this comedy came out in the 70's, it was aptly described as "Chaplinesque". The hero, a coarse Italian immigrant in Switzerland, is as much an Everyman as Chaplin's Tramp. The movie was a hit in the US, winning the NY Critics' Award for Best Foreign Film. Nino Manfredi is funny and touching as the earthy immigrant, the "bread" in the land of refinement ("chocolate"). Anna Karina is stunning as the Greek stowaway who shares some of the same predicament as Manfredi. The "chicken coop" sequence is particularly hilarious. I think this is one movie that deserves to be transformed into a Broadway musical. How about it, Mr. Sondheim?

ReenieS I had never heard of this film, but it was discussed recently on Jon Favreau's "Dinner for Five" on the independent film channel. Two of his guests that evening, director John Herzfeld and actor Peter Falk were discussing the film. They both raved about how wonderful it was. I am now determined to find it and view it for myself.

Paul-250 This film about the struggles of an Italian immigrant in Switzerland generates bizarrely conflicting emotions; indeed at times you don't know whether to laugh or cry! I saw this years ago when I was at university and I expect it has dated in the sense that the status of immigrants has changed a lot since then. It may even be disquieting at times for those who have grown-up believing that they must never laugh at particular social groups, but the film is clearly sympathetic to those whose dignity is compromised daily by their circumstances of life. I defy anyone not to cry with laughter at the restaurant and chicken-coop scenes.