Mariage à l'italienne

A fine showcase for Sophia Loren who at the age of thirty portrays and older women seemingly at death's door as well as a young girl of seventeen. And throughout she has a fantastic rapport with Marcello Mastroianni and however fantastical becomes the action, however unrealistic the Italian 'realism' we believe in her. She is not, if there is such a thing, a 'classic' beauty and yet she always looks lovely. Her face can express sadness, concern, happiness and glee, all within seconds of each other and with her all the time remaining attractive. Her body is probably even more remarkable but it is the way she can move that is truly magical, and sexy. She can striptese all day long but the magic is when she begins to walk or skip along the street. Remarkable. And on the screen, of course, quite magical. So if the first half of this Vittorio De Sica film can be sluggish with comedic moments that don't quite cut it today (if they ever did outside of Italy) there is always Loren to look at and the pairing of the two to enjoy. Things get going and if we find it hard to glorify prostitution one moment and femininity and motherhood the next, it is not a problem for the Italians and eventually we too are swept along in a romanticised wave of well being.

"Marriage Italian Style" is not a comedy in my opinion even though it is often billed as such. This surprised me, I was expecting to see a more silly movie and instead got a pretty serious drama which was well acted and interesting. So I will recommend this film as a drama, but not if you're looking for a silly comedy. I did enjoy it though, especially toward the end when it all came together. You can see that there was some real emotion in here about children knowing their fathers and having legitimacy and their mothers being wed and taken care of, an issue Ms. Loren and her mother dealt with in real life I believe from what I read. And Marcello Mastroianni seemed equally fit to his role in this film as well. So in summary, a well acted Italian drama that I rate a 7/10.

Absolute classic romantic comedy with two of the absolute greats in Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren. The romance is stunningly powerful, the comedy is witty and hilarious. "The more the world changes, the more it stays the same."

Marriage Italian Style is a beautiful love story between Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, that created electricity when they worked together. Passionate chemistry and amazing acting. A difficult story, which makes you question good and bad, right and wrong. It's a "problem play" which ends up happy, but not happy. You wonder what the future will bring, but hope for the best. Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni could not be better matched or more compelling to watch. Overall, I've seen Marriage Italian Style many times and love it more every time.

After anthologies "Boccaccio 70" and "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," director Vittorio De Sica returns to a single story format with his favorite actress Sophia Loren, joined yet again by Marcello Mastroianni, evoking memories of her Oscar-winning turn in "Two Women" as Filumena, devoted companion to Mastroianni's wealthy Domenico, who discovered her as a frightened 17 year old in a bordello during a wartime bomb raid, putting her to work as a domestic in his mother's home rather than waste his position in society on a woman below his station. 20 years pass and she now lies on her deathbed, requesting the presence of a priest who promptly joins the two in marriage (just as he's prepared to wed a girl half his age), Domenico stunned to see Filumena up in no time and fighting fit, and more determined than ever to emerge the victor in this battle of the sexes, not so much for herself but for the three sons she has secretly cared for over the years. There are amusing moments to be sure but it's by heart a serious drama in which Sophia effortlessly ages from bubbly coquette to middle aged dowager over 100 minutes yet still meets her perfect match in Marcello Mastroianni, who has no business being so likable when he's essentially portraying a cad.

When De Sica finally got around to filming Eduardo De Filippo's great play "Filumena" he chose two of Italian cinema's finest actors to play the leads and even if the change of title to "Marriage Italian Style" was something of a sop to commercialism the end result was still hugely satisfying. Sophia Loren, (magnificent), is Filumena, the Neopolitan prostitute, and Marcello Mastroianni, (also superb), the rich patron who strings her along for years, always finding an excuse not to marry her.

It is, of course, a comment on Italian machismo and of the subservient role of women in Italian society so perhaps the comic possibilities of the plot might escape a non-Italian audience, (comedy was never De Sica's strong point). Still, Sophia was never more radiant than she is here, so what's not to love, (she was Oscar-nominated), and De Sica does manage to keep the potential for sentimentality at arm's length. Unfortunately, the film isn't as highly thought of as it once was and isn't much seen today.