Una vita difficile

Just when you are thinking that Italy is a stupid country, ever been stupid and hopeless not to be stupid, find your old VHS of this movie and watch it again. Neorealistic dramas of the forties and the fifties depict a country in comparison of which Transilvanya seems Disneyland, and that's not reasonable; comedies of the sixties and seventies are quite silly and superficial. This film, along with "C'eravamo tanto amati" in my opinion, is a perfectly balanced synthesis of both streams. There's fun and there's poverty, laughter and desperation, and this makes it the most truthful social portrait of this strange, controversial place I live in. It's a good summary of recent national history as well. And it contains two or three of the highest peaks of comedy of the entire world's cinema, see the argument with the restaurant owner for the bill (I fear it works only in Italian, though)or the dinner at the aristocratic family the evening of the elections for the choice between monarchy and republic. This is worth a couple of lines. Silvio, a leftist journalist and former guerrilla soldier against fascists, and his wife are rejected by restaurants because of their lack of money. They meet an aristocrat they know who invites them for dinner. The reason is not generosity but the fact that at that dinner there are thirteen people, and a common belief was that the circumstance would bring bad luck. At the table a full inventory of the meanest and most grotesque old fashioned conservative characters of the time, who, in an embarrassing way, try to hide their opinion on the new despicable hosts and to be kind to them. As the dishes arrive the couple forget good manners and make a show of themselves. Conversation falls on politics and Silvio enworsen his situation with some bitter comments, while his wife kicks him under the table. Suddenly come the results of the elections: Italians chose republic! Someone faint, some other curse, but Silvio and his wife hug each other. The monarchists, now mad, leave the room and here comes the scene you'll remember: the butler comes, bearing a bottle of champagne, solemnly he approaches the two proletarians and fills their glasses in silence.

I'd say that it is the most Italian movie I've seen in my whole life (and yes I have seen a lots of them). The keyword is LAZY.

OK, there are a lot of things happening around the characters of the movie- the time is WWII. of course it was a hard time for Italians- Germans occupying Rome etc it isn't that they don't care about them. They do. anyway they don't do anything special, revolutional or hysterical. They just enjoy the life. maybe it wasn't the main idea of Dino Risi when he was making the film but is the main idea for me.

Perhaps I like it so much just cause for the first time I saw different Alberto Sordi- not that kind of crazy and stupid, and greedy man who all the time is jumping around and eating pasta and telling far-from-clever jokes to far-from-sexy and hysterical women. Maybe it is because first time in my life I heard the Italian hymn (Fratelli d'italia) used as a background in a movie and it didn't sound neither officious nor impertinent. Perhaps it is because of the atmosphere that is so lazy and romantic- the conversation scene in the bed in a lodge placed in the middle of the forest between Silvio and the young girl while his friends partisans were 'playing with the guns' outside. This is the way I saw Italy for the last time I was there. It was in autumn. Don't get me wrong- the events aren't taking place in autumn. It's just about the atmosphere.

I will lie if I say that this is a very important relating the history of civilization film. It isn't. It doesn't solve any psychological or political problems neither. Maybe it is more for those who are excited with Italy for the right reasons but don't live there yet/anymore.

The Italians are masters in the art of mixing to perfection laughs and tears. It is a pity to see the recipe gone, together with the great actors and directors; CINEMA DELL'ARTE has joined COMMEDIA DELL'ARTE in Ancien History. That was one more reason for my rushing to see this unknown pearl, re-masterized-but-not-too-much, probably intentionally, because this gives the movie an added patine which is quite pleasant to watch. The actors are wonderful, especially the late Alberto Sordi and Lea Massari, who kept acting in Italian and French movies until recently.I found the same pleasure as in Ettore Scola's C'ERAVAMO TANTO AMATI, 1974, to find many Italian actors and directors playing as themselves. Stars of the pre-war (Antonio Centa and Claudio Gora) are available too. IL SORPASSO was ending also at the gates of Viareggio, but Risi gave almost a real part to this Art Deco city in UNA VITA DIFFICILE. I am a fan of it since 1997, but in the movie it looked like a real paradise of the Sixties, when there was a nightlife in the Pinete (pinewoods, now abandoned to the bambini and the bikers, but still a daytime popular attraction). Some of the nightclubs kept their names, but turned into family restaurants and moved to the city's fancy promenade, unfortunately separated from the sea by the beach establishments.It was my "added entertainment", in a rare delight.If it shows around, don't miss it. harry carasso, Paris, France

In this heart-wrenching comedy directed by Italian cinema giant Dino Risi, Silvio Magnozzi's "difficult life" follows the trajectory of Italy from the proud moments of the Resistance movement's struggle against Nazi occupation to post-war domination by wealth and privilege. Magnozzi, a writer and journalist played by Alberto Sordi, does not give up the dream of an alternate future to capitalism and the extreme inequalities it engenders. He meets Elena, the love of his life, while he is fighting the Nazis; but after the war she is torn between his dreams and the petty social- climbing schemes of her mother. So while Magnozzi refuses to sell out, choosing to defy the fat cats and to write truthfully, Elena waivers.

The film is often classified with the New Italian Comedy, a genre that emerged from the hard-hitting political narratives of Italian Neo-realism and retained their critical edge while softening it with humor. "A Difficult Life" has a bitter tone compared to most of the films of the period; even in many very funny scenes the anger and defiance are never dispelled, and Magnozzi pays a heavy price for his heroism.

Sordi's performance is brilliant (Italians refer to him as "Albertone", perhaps best translated as "Albert the Great"). In his portrayal of the clown as hero, every gesture is meaningful and touching. Lea Massari, one of the great Italian divas of the period, also has a stand-out performance--and the supporting cast (including Claudio Gora as the boorish multi-millionaire) never misses a beat. The period details— from the newsreel footage to the flashy cars, beach parties, and fur coats of the post-war boom-- are handled expertly. A must-see for any lover of Italian cinema. '

Alberto Sordi is a talented actor, but other than Lo Sceicco Bianco, I have yet to find a movie where I have enjoyed his character. In this movie he plays an annoying self-centered loser who repeatedly abandons his wife/girlfriend and still gets her in the end. His difficult life is all of his own making. I would say that all self-centered losers should watch this film, but maybe they'll learn the wrong lesson. Don't waste your time with this movie.