Divorzio all'italiana

This is definitely one of the best Italian comedies ever made, a movie you can watch over and over again... Mastroianni gives an excellent performance as an impoverished Sicilian aristocrat determined to get a divorce from his wife. There is only one complication - divorce is illegal in Italy at the time. However, there is also a law that justifies the killing of a wife if she is caught during an act of adultery. As with most others Germi's films, this one is a unique mix of situational comedy and social drama. Highly recommended.

This is definitely one of the best Italian comedies ever made, a movie you can watch over and over again, Well paced, beautifully scored, perfectly set and cast but most of all flat out funny "Divorzio all'italiana" clicks on all cylinders from start to finish.

When I first saw Pietro Germi's movies (a long time ago), I thought he was a misogynist who portrayed women as grotesque monsters that make men's lives miserable. Thirty years later, after the women's movement, I have come around 180 degrees, and see him as a feminist before his time--showing how the patriarchal family destroys women (and men)and exposing the absurdity of "family honor"--and doing it with humor. It doesn't just apply to Sicily. The Sicilian setting and ambiance is a big part of this movie, however--watch for all the little details of gestures and interactions, and the great shots of the sunbaked town, baroque churches, and interiors of the decaying houses of the aristocrats. Mastroianni is terrific, and so is the supporting cast.

This classic Italian film is a comedy that tells the story of Ferdinando Cefalu who is unhappily married for 15 years, but he falls in love with his wife's niece, and he starts a plan to end his marriage and not be criticized by the old and classy Italian society. In the meantime, in order to complete his plan many things happened including funny moments and some dramatic moments. The movie seems to have been very well directed and very well acted and gives us a little hint about the behavior of the Sicilian society. In order to do his plan, Ferdinando chooses a crazy idea, and takes a long time to plan and detail his plan perfectly having a lot of funny interruptions during the process of his plan. Its refreshing to find movies with good sense of humor, and no use of vulgarities or bad language to make the viewers laugh. I really enjoyed it, and i deeply recommend watching it.

There's a moment in Pietro Germi's Divorzio all'italiana (aka: Divorce Italian Style) that pretty much defines everything, that sort of defines what a black comedy is all about: a certain woman murders her husband because he had run away with another woman, that certain woman murdered him while he was out with his new love. And that certain woman had something similar with our main character, Marcello Mastroianni's Baron Ferdinando Cefalù, and actually after the murder she crossed path with Ferdinando. The moment that sort of defines everything is when these two, the certain woman and our main character, are together since is Mastroianni delivering a really great laugh, is Ferninando being like "" ...certainly and certainly is the way that Mastroianni delivers the scene that makes it so fantastic and hilarious.