Non ci resta che piangere

Non ci resta che piangere is an amazing movie. The plot may seem a bit improvised, but that movie is much more than just an excuse for some hilarious gags. It contains all the philosophy of Benigni and Troisi, and presents all the different aspects and approach to life of Neapolitans and fiorentini personalities, away from stereotypes (as usual!). It is one of the funniest movies ever, and still, it makes me cry (maybe because I can't help thinking about Troisi, Napoli's best artist of the late XX century). It is a movie many people should see, but when I travel overseas I find it almost impossible to find in rental shops, or wherever.

The comedy is not bad, but I wouldn't call it a good one, whatever you say. Maybe I missed something, while trying to follow the Naples and Toscany accents and reading subtitles in proper Italian (that weren't word for word translations), but it seemed really average to me.

The humor is unequal, though, some things are really funny, while most of the movie felt boring. The low budget Italian film feeling also didn't help, reminding me of those horrible "Princess dresses in boy's clothes and saves her magical cardboard kingdom" films, if you know what I mean.

The movie was recommended by an Italian friend of mine, and he is not stupid, so maybe being Italian helps a lot with this film.

"Non ci resta che piangere" is definitely a piece of art, directed by two of the most important Italian comedy writers: Benigni and Troisi. This is the work of a Napolitan and a Tuscan comic put together to make a film that'll make you laugh from its start and if you start, you'll never stop.

The plot is very simple: Mario and Saverio, a teacher and a janitor in an elementary school, find them in the year 1492 and it is the origin of all the funny situations you'll find in the movie.

The language used by Mario and Saverio is Italian, but Mario uses a typical Naples accent and Saverio it's using his Tuscan influence, so the language they use is crucial to the final meaning of the movie.

In the original version there was an additional scene, that the directors had to cut off when publishing the movie, despite this the movie is still very funny, and is its freshness, its lack of bad words what makes it a good comedy and a good film.

Ending, I think this movie is one of the best ever produced in Italy, but unfortunately, due to its dialectal language and the direct speech it can't be translated to other languages.

A real masterpiece by Benigni and Troisi. The plot is very simple and there are no special effects. However, what earns this book a place in history books is the outstanding acting performance of these two comedians. You can see from the beginning that most of the sketches are improvisations; their acting is so natural and clean. The reason why it did not gain international recognition is because it cannot possibly transmit the same emotions with with subtitles. Translation becomes nonsense in a movie that is so culturally-bound. I wish I could recommend it to everybody, but I must say that you really need to understand Italian plus some Neapolitan and Florentine dialect in order to appreciate it in its entirety. Besides, you also need to know a little bit about the culture and history of Italy. In Italy, this was, is and will always be an outstanding piece of art.

Roberto Benigni and Massimo Troisi are two of the most important Italian comedians of their generation, who ended up being recognized internationally with their masterpieces, "La vita è bella" by Benigni (1997) and "Il Postino" by Troisi (1994), the latter consecrated after his death.

Until they reached the pinnacle of their careers, they went through a series of films where, assuming the role of comedians, they made funny comedies, but of limited content. It's a bit the fate of comedians, to make the public laugh until they finally get autonomy and courage to make a serious comedy, where the laughter is poetic and the wit is intelligent. These two ended up making it and getting the right recognition, which doesn't always happen.

In this four-hand project, the script is weak and even the comedy, with some amusing moments, relies more on the improvisation capacity of the two actors than on situations or previously written dialogues. Above all, it is worth by the natural grace of these two clowns, of unique quality, who are always a pleasure to see perform.