Macaroni

The conceit of this odd little film is that to experience family love the late-middle-aged American man must return whence he found it -- to Italy of course!

The score is lovely but the sound quality execrable. The comedy hits Americans sideways but the location shots of Naples are breathtaking. (What can Florence be like?)

The storyline is all over the place but then it doesn't matter because we are spellbound by every scene where Lemmon and Mastroianni are together. Both are at the top of their form, not out of any sense of competing, but rather out of respect -- to their characters, to their director, and to each other.

Lemmon is the most restrained I've ever seen him. His tendency to be seen working is quelled, perhaps, by Mastroianni's generous willingness to cede the center of the stage.

So what we have is a little movie with a somewhat pretentious theme that nevertheless, because of its idiosyncrasies and contradictions, and especially because of the performances of its leads, is well worth viewing.

Two incredible actors team up for this tender film about two World War II buddies who are reunited in modern day Naples only to find that Antonio (Mastroianni)has been forging letters to his sister from Robert (Lemmon) since the war ended. It was his way of helping her forget the American who left her behind. Worth viewing for the fantastic chemistry between both stars.

Pasta, as the staple food of all Italian households, serves as the symbol of that which sustains us physically. And life long relationships is what defines each and every one of us. In this respect, watching Mastroianni as Antonio and Lemmon as Robert is like watching two master painters at work creating a human landscape spanning decades.

In Antonio, Mastroianni reveals a man of integrity, caring, love and a sense of what makes us all human. Juxtaposed in Robert, Lemmon initially shows us a tired, bitter and disconnected man who no longer sees the real beauty in life. One cannot find two more opposite men at their respective stages in life. But it is here that the audience enters into their world or re-discovery.

As always, Jack Lemmon inhabits the soul of his character (Robert) while portraying the angst felt by a man in deep internal turmoil. But being the great actor Lemmon always displayed, he does not leave us with this one dimensional view of Robert. Rather Lemmon takes us, as the film progresses, on a journey into his re-discovery of a time in his life when happiness was real, taken for granted and lost. And in that realization, Lemmon gives us the real bitterness of his character. Having once loved Antonio's sister during his days in the Army while stationed in Italy, Robert knew, perhaps for the only time in his life, real joy and kinship with others.

Mastroianni gives a masterful performance of a dedicated bank employee who while he is not rich monetarily is rich in the knowledge of the love and respect he enjoys from family and friends. When Robert returns to Italy on a business trip in the present day, Antonio becomes overjoyed with the thought of rekindling the friendship he once shared with Robert. Mastroianni plays, with youthful enthusiasm, his excitement in seeing his 'old friend' Robert again. Antonio, in his simple way, has never lost sight of the true wealth of life. It is in this simplicity that Robert finds, at first, exasperation and then regret.

But watching these two masters of cinema go to work with their characters is liking watching a sculptor taking a lump of stone and turning it into a recognizable form. Lemmon and Mastroianni take the basis of their characters and give a master class in blending the two diverse characters. It is in this blending that both Antonio and Robert learn the real lesson in life - people's lives may change but their core does not. In the end, Antonio is aided by Robert who understands the importance of taking swift action to save Antonio's son who has gotten involved with some unsavory characters. Antonio comes to realize that his friend never stopped caring for him, he was just side tracked by his life in America. For Robert, he has once again felt that exhilaration that we can all know if we allow ourselves. And that is the exhilaration of unconditional, ever present love by friends and family which is the basis of all human relationships.

The final scene of the film is very fitting as we see Robert and Antonio's family sitting at the family dinner table being served pasta. The two staples of life are joined here just as Robert and Antonio were once again.

I lived in Naples at the time and those Americans who did loved this movie. There were many inside jokes that you could only know about if living or have lived in Italy. However, my sister saw it having never been in Naples and thought it was both touching and Naples. The people and and the city is really like it. Jack Lemmon doesn't play his typical character but plays straight man to the city and the people of Naples and seeing his reaction to this strange world of people and back alleys is hilarious. The movie reminds me a little of an Neopolitan version of the movie Cannery Row but much more funnier. Most Americans hate Naples until after a few months living there an then love it. The movie captures that spirit. Well worth seeing especially if you ever want to visit bella Napoli. I agree with the previous comment that the movie came and went all too fast...a sleeper.

Lemmon and Mastronianni...what can I say? This is an explosive mixture, one of the best European actors with one of the best American actors.... no comments. Both their roles are great and did not expect less. From the movie I was expecting a different ending although it was not disappointing it left me with the bitter taste. Good comic and drama mix of Scolla.