JoeKulik
Vittorio De Sica's Marriage Italian Style (1964) is really a great film. It's one of the very best, in my opinion.It is too simplistic just to mindlessly pigeonhole this fine film as a "comedy", or even as a "romantic comedy". This film, although it does seem to begin as a comedy, smoothly transitions into a compelling drama. Overall, this film transcends simple taxonomic categories because, in many ways, it successfully portrays the subtle manifold complexities of life, which defies simple categorization itself.This film has no "deep meaning", or abstract symbolisms. It is just a a fine example of compelling cinematic storytelling. And what a story it tells. It is a story of a beautiful young woman from an impoverished background who finds herself selling her own body just for economic survival. It is the story of a prostitute who actually falls in love with one of her wealthy clients, a client who superficially seems to be in love with her too, but who really can never consider her more than a human "object", bought and paid for, a human "object" who is not socially suitable for marriage because of her background. It is a story of two people finally marrying, being able to transcend the difference of social status and social ranking that has long separated them. It is a story of a mother who never abandoned her children, although circumstances conspired to keep her physically and socially distant from them for many years. It is a story of three brothers who grew up never knowing each other, finally uniting with each other, and the mother that they never knew. In short, the story told in this film is not a simple one, indeed. It is a panoramic portrayal of human life of epic proportions. This is a very detailed, and nuanced portrayal too, exposing the passions, the spirit, the foibles, the sincerities, the vanities, and the glories of human existence. Yet, for all of that, this fine filmmaker, was able, at the same time, to simply tell a very interesting and very entertaining story too.There are those today who might complain that this film is not "politically correct" because it portrays a woman who spends her life enduring the sexual exploitation, and the social domination of an indifferent and powerful man. Although this may be true, it is for this very reason that I feel that this is an important film to view even decades after it's release. That is because it is, in some ways, an historical record of the social norms, and the social attitudes of Italian society circa the 1960's, and to a certain extent accurately portrays the norms and attitudes about gender relations prevalent throughout Western Culture at that time. It is also an important film to view today because in the nuanced and extended transitional interaction between the main characters, we can see much of the man-woman relationship that is still prevalent, and still relevant today. For instance, this film believably portrays a twenty two year relationship between a couple that spans the spectrum from a prostitute-client relationship, to a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, to a live in mistress/business associate-employer relationship, to a wife-husband relationship. Yet, the director succeeds to deliberately, and effectively "blur" the boundaries between the various stages of this long, and extended man-woman relationship. In short, the answer to the question: "When did the woman in this relationship stop being a prostitute?" is not easy to discern. More important is the question: "Did this woman ever effectively stop being this man's prostitute, even after he finally married her?" Given the social and sexual attitudes of the man in this relationship, it is justifiable to argue that this man will always, at some level, consider this woman to be his "whore", even after legitimizing their relationship through the social artifice of marriage. This whole issue brings to light an element of gender relations that is still very relevant today, that, in one way or another, a woman is coerced by society to "sell" her sexuality every day, and even in marriage just to achieve her personal goals in life.The performances by Mastroianni and Loren in this film were superb, and were enhanced by the palpable chemistry that obviously exists between them. These fine actors both gave nuanced and subtle performances that brought the complex storyline of this film to life in a way that most other actors just are not capable of doing.Overall, this film really boggles my mind when I try to reconcile how such a deep and expansive portrayal of human life can be, at the same time, just so entertaining, and just so much fun to watch. In that respect, De Sica's production here is very Shakespearean, indeed.20 Stars !!!
Turfseer
I couldn't remember if I had seen 'Marriage Italian Style' years ago so I decided to take a look at it, now far into my middle age. I was expecting a sophisticated comedy since after all, the director was the famed Vittorio De Sica. Unfortunately, I must confess that I was disappointed. Not that the acting was so bad—after all, superstars such as Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni usually never proffer up performances to sneeze at. Nonetheless, it was obvious from the start, that De Sica was working from a script that is now woefully dated.'Marriage Italian Style' begins in the present time when the movie was made (early 60s). Loren plays Filumena Marturano who is pretending to be grievously ill, in one last desperate attempt to trick Domenico Soriano (Mastrioianni) into marrying her. We then flashback to when the couple met, (which was during World War II) when Filumena was working as a prostitute in a brothel and Domenico, a successful businessmen, begins a relationship with her. The comedy is supposed to stem from Domenico's awkward attempts to hide his infidelity from Filumena but she's always one step ahead of him.Eventually Domenico 'ups' his commitment to her by offering to take her into his home as an unofficial mistress. At first, Filumena appears honored since his mother lives there and she plans on establishing a good rapport with the mother, in order to solidify her relationship with Domenico. The relationship with the mother immediately becomes a burden when it becomes clear that the mother is hopelessly senile!After Filumena's charade is exposed, she has one last card to play: she reveals that she has three children and one of them is fathered by Domenico. Now the comic plot shifts as Domenico keeps trying to figure out who is the son. After he basically kicks Filumena out of his home and plans never to see her again, he eventually has a change of heart, realizing the error of his ways in trying to favor one child over the two others.One wonders why Filumena is drawn back to the cad Domenico due to the way in which he has mistreated through the years. The answer of course is that Filumena is a) pretty much emotionally dependent on him despite the bad treatment, b) financially dependent and c) lacking in self- esteem to walk away.The sudden change of heart by Domenico, to go back to Filumena and accept the three children as his own, seems unlikely, given his years of philandering. Nonetheless, a la Hollywood, the happy ending appears pre-ordained.Even though you might expect a film such as this which features such big stars, to be an instant classic, even the best directors can do little, if they're saddled with a weak script!
lasttimeisaw
The film employs a tremendously perky rhythm and register to showcase the traits of the earthly Italy at its post-war development, even though essentially the overwrought kernel of a prostitute's tribulations could hardly appropriate as a comedy material. Vittorio De Sica's camera enigmatically haunts and pivots around two leads' present and past, the intangible love/hate chaos is disarmingly intriguing and subconsciously imbues the audience with a fervent compassion towards Sophia Loren's unswerving while passionate Filumena. The leading performance is worth of much accolade, especially for Sophia Loren, whose full-brown force of personality spanning over 20 years in the film and indisputably devotes a magnificent performance with all her zest and vigor. Marcello Mastroianni, is great as well, to hone up his versatility and render the womanizer an ambiguous moral criterion which is a more delicate task. I cannot help being fascinated by the exquisite script as well, credited by five names, no wonder all the twists and turns are so fruitful in a way that both surprising and amusing. Nominated for 2 Oscars (BEST FOREIGN FILM and a second BEST ACTRESS nomination for Loren) and is a milestone which not only represents Loren's heyday but also is a comforting fruition of Loren-Conti correlation. Maybe it is not director De Sica's best canon due to its slight superficiality of machismo, which I sense may not be the director's fault as it is a general bias lies in all over the globe. Anyway, the film itself surely is a fine piece captures a genuine Italian aura (the Naples' style) and definitely worth your pocket.
