VeteranLight
I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
Listonixio
Fresh and Exciting
Rio Hayward
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
krocheav
The Italians don't seem to treat their sordid past Fascist connections with much serious examination in film, and this fine film is quite another in the somewhat 'romantic' mould. Here, the interpretation of these shocking times could perhaps be taken as simply reflecting the youthful memories of Mr Zeffirelli. Still, there are several seriously challenging situations in this beautifully produced film and the performances are something to treasure. Where the facts separate from the fiction maybe blurred but the tragic history of these terrible days will forever haunt anyone who recalls the struggle to survive. Lush cinematography and music score make it a sophisticated journey back through modern history.
AlbaITA
@noralee (Queens, NY) "What the movie also brought to mind is how few Italian movies have dealt with their fascist past as much as the French have been exploring their consciences of collaboration in film. " Obviosly you have little knowledge about the Italian cinema. When French started to "explaore their consciences" Italians had already made hundreds of movies about theirs. There are many movies about that period such as : Una Giornata Particolare,Il Federale, Il Delitto Matteotti, Giarabub,Empoli 1921, Vincere, Il Leone del Deserto,Gli Anni Ruggenti, The long night of '43, Il Generale Rovere, Via Rasella, A Day as lions, Fontamara, and many others which I can not post here because I know the titles in Italian only. Anyway, here is a list of movies about that period: ttp://www.unifi.it/bibliotecapoloprato/CMpro-v-p-137.html Maybe the problem is that the majority of these movies are unknown internationally.
moonspinner55
Young boy from a broken home is 'adopted' by a group of elderly British women in pre-WWII Florence, Italy. Director Franco Zeffirelli's rather self-conscious valentine to his own childhood is slushed with poetic sentimentality, most of which feels distinctly artificial. The young lad at the heart of the piece isn't at all memorable, and the ladies unfortunately fare no better (but where else can you find Cher, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Lily Tomlin and Maggie Smith together on-screen?). Some of the more subtle moments (such as the child waiting for someone to pick him up after school) touch on a velvety kind of youthful longing that is rather sweet, but the drippy dialogue and obvious "scene stealing" opportunities for the femme stars drain much of the sincerity from the mix. ** from ****
Jackson Booth-Millard
I remember seeing this film once before when I was in college, but I obviously did not acknowledge it properly, I remembered nothing but some of the cast members, so I decided to watch it again, from director Franco Zeffirelli (The Taming of the Shrew). Basically this is a semi-autobiographical tale based on the early experiences of director Zeffirelli, seeing the life of an Italian businessman's son. Luca (Charlie Lucas) grows up raised by Englishwoman Mary Wallace (Joan Plowright) after his mother dies, and they are living in Fascist Italy in Florence on the eve of World War II, along with other Englishwomen living sheltered in the country. These other women include Lady Hester Random (Dame Maggie Smith) and Arabella (Dame Judi Dench) who are hoping for assured protection after a tea reception with Mussolini (Claudio Spadaro), but the war breaks out and this does not happen. Luca (Baird Wallace) grows up, and occasionally visiting the women in the English colony is American wealthy socialite Elsa Morganthal Strauss-Armistan (Cher), and when they are low on luck and stuck in a bad living environment she secretly pays for their stay in a hotel. Lady Random, the ambassador's widow, dislikes Elsa, but she is part of the story too when America enters the war two years later, and there is some plot about signing over for modern art or something, and Georgie Rockwell (Lily Tomlin) gets involved too. Okay, I will be honest I did not understand much of the plot at all. Also starring Massimo Ghini as Paolo. I did enjoy the performances of likable Plowright, posh Smith, eccentric Dench and smiley Cher, and the story of the boy trying to get somewhere was fine, but as I did not understanding pretty much anything going on it was near impossible to give it a real opinion, and I doubt if I watch it again it would be any different, but it was a pleasant enough period comedy drama. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Costume Design. Okay!
