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Many of Lina Wertmuller's movies (such as "Seven Beauties" and "Swept Away") have dealt with the North-South divide in Italy. "Io speriamo che me la cavo" (called "Ciao, Professore!" in English) has Northern Italian professor Marco Sperelli (Paolo Villaggio) getting sent to a destitute town near Naples and having to get used to being a teacher there, especially with the presence of a young hoodlum in the school. Maybe it's not Wertmuller's greatest movie, but it is something that I would recommend - although I should warn you, there's some stuff here that might be a little shocking to find in a movie dealing with children. Buon viaggio!

This movie is a true gem...even with all the swearing it still retains an almost disney like innocence. The Italian children that are in this movie will absolutely amaze you...most north-american style child actors are guilty of either complete lack of talent, or of being hams...not so here.... not to say many of the scene's aren't over the top..they are...but they are done so well, and the comedy and drama handled so deftly you take it all in stride.... This movie is on par with another foreign film called "Children of Heaven"....different subject matter, but same sense of comedy and drama.

You will never see a better movie with child actors than this one. And Paolo Villaggio is very touching, he doesn't fool around like in the movies that followed the first Fantozzi. There are many scenes so emotional that they almost make you cry. A powerful film that will change the hearts of those who will see it. All the children in the film are truly extraordinary and, especially, Maria Esposito in the role of Rosinella.

This movie is great for those who:

-love Italian culture

-love Italian kids

-love southern Italian dialect

This movie haunted me at movie stores since I became interested in foreign films 4 or 5 years ago. Glaring and obnoxious as its cover is, I finally rented it. All in all a decent comedy.

In my ratings scale, comedies are graded more on their humor than their story line. In the case of this movie, that is a good thing. A weak story of coincidence, a northern italian professor ends up teaching in the chaos that is Italy southern (Napoli).

I loved the movie because I understand italian well enough to not read the satisfactory subtitles and because the kids were luminous compared to the usual fumbling kiddie actors; these ones were adorable and their lines hilarious.

Other notes: There is a lot of vulgarity in this movie, as is typical in the south. The lead, a likeable Paolo Villaggio, plays foil for the wild kids. The story is simple and dismissable. The cinematography is standard, blessed by the wondrous ambient that is the dilapidated South. A normally celebrated Wertmuller seems to have chosen an easy project here. The movie was produced by media mogul Silvio Berlusconi (vaffa!).

Ultimately it's a movie to waste 90 min, but it was enjoyable and will certainly rouse a smile when I see it on the shelves next time.

6/10, JCC

I actually watched it 15 times from 2019 to nowdays and everytime I see it I remember an old teacher that teached catholic religion in middle school. He always looked strict but teached me and my classmates with his heart; he often defended me and let me build in me courage and strength just like Marco Tullio Sperelli... I always remember him as my teacher T^T.