I chose to watch this movie simply because of Vittorio De Sica. He's one of my very favorite film directors of all time with such wonderful classics as UMBERTO D, THE BICYCLE THIEF, THE CHILDREN ARE WATCHING US (my favorite foreign film or at least in my top three) and MIRACLE IN MILAN0--FOUR must-see movies for anyone who might consider themselves to be a cinephile or cinemaniac. He also acted in quite a few films, though I've only see a few of the films, such as the wonderful GENERAL DELLA ROVERE and the adequate IT STARTED IN NAPLES. So, because I haven't seen that many films in which he appeared, it seemed like a deficiency I should remedy!
The film begins with Marcello meeting his friend, the Professor (De Sica). Marcello is happy, as he's met a nice lady and she and her mother seem quite taken with him--making him meals and doting over him. However, the Professor says this is a trap--he should run or else he'll find himself married--and emasculated! Talk about a cynical view! And, what follows is a greatly exaggerated but funny view of marriage and how men will only get into trouble if they fall prey to it! It's all very surreal and tongue-in-cheek--with many outrageous moments illustrating the shortcomings of Marcello's marriage--and his subsequent murder trial! You see his side of things and the mother-in-law's/wife's side--which are as different as night and day as all of them describe the others as evil and themselves as innocent victims. A few of the funnier scenes were the courtroom portion (particularly when the Swedish ladies enter), the knife thrower, the concert and the extremely fair trial.
Overall, the film is funny and the humor quite broad. You certainly would not consider this a subtle comedy--but it will make you smile. In many ways this cynical attitude about marriage would make this film an excellent companion piece to the wonderful DIVORCE Italian STYLE--a film that recommends killing your spouse instead of going to all the trouble of getting a traditional divorce!!
Oh, and remember me mentioning that I watched the film because it had De Sica in it? Well, despite having top billing and being featured on the movie poster, he's barely in the movie at all--making most of his appearance near the end! Despite this bit of larceny, it's still a nice film.
By the way, I saw the film with subtitles and it seems that the translator was no lover of music--translating the word for 'tuba' incorrectly--calling it a 'trombone' throughout the film.
The film begins with Marcello meeting his friend, the Professor (De Sica). Marcello is happy, as he's met a nice lady and she and her mother seem quite taken with him--making him meals and doting over him. However, the Professor says this is a trap--he should run or else he'll find himself married--and emasculated! Talk about a cynical view! And, what follows is a greatly exaggerated but funny view of marriage and how men will only get into trouble if they fall prey to it! It's all very surreal and tongue-in-cheek--with many outrageous moments illustrating the shortcomings of Marcello's marriage--and his subsequent murder trial! You see his side of things and the mother-in-law's/wife's side--which are as different as night and day as all of them describe the others as evil and themselves as innocent victims. A few of the funnier scenes were the courtroom portion (particularly when the Swedish ladies enter), the knife thrower, the concert and the extremely fair trial.
Overall, the film is funny and the humor quite broad. You certainly would not consider this a subtle comedy--but it will make you smile. In many ways this cynical attitude about marriage would make this film an excellent companion piece to the wonderful DIVORCE Italian STYLE--a film that recommends killing your spouse instead of going to all the trouble of getting a traditional divorce!!
Oh, and remember me mentioning that I watched the film because it had De Sica in it? Well, despite having top billing and being featured on the movie poster, he's barely in the movie at all--making most of his appearance near the end! Despite this bit of larceny, it's still a nice film.
By the way, I saw the film with subtitles and it seems that the translator was no lover of music--translating the word for 'tuba' incorrectly--calling it a 'trombone' throughout the film.
