Michael is the younger son of a middle-class family, a strong-willed and free-thinking fellow, who is off in some distant country fighting for a revolutionary cause. Everyone in the family writes to him, describing the events of their lives, as they drift into a kind of conventionality which would perhaps have horrified them earlier. Only Michael’s girlfriend Mara, the mother of his child, retains her independence, even though it is through the help of Michael’s increasingly conventional friends and family that she survives.
Director: Mario Monicelli.
Stars: Mariangela Melato, Delphine Seyrig, Aurore Clément, Lou Castel, Fabio Carpi, Marcella Michelangeli, Alfonso Gatto, Eriprando Visconti, Isa Danieli, Renato Romano, Giuliana Calandra, Costantino Carrozza, Luca Dal Fabbro, Adriana Innocenti, Loredana Martínez, Eleonora Morana, Alfredo Pea.
Great film, thanks Jon. Love Mario Monicelli’s films and this one of the best I’ve seen of his. So rich in detail, character and atmosphere. Rome, the 70’s, music by Nino Rota, script by Tonino Guerra and the fantastic and mesmerising Mariangela Melato. Whats not to love! One of those films I didn’t want to end.
…… and from a book by the great Natalia Ginzburg! Another gem you’ve uncovered