Pane e cioccolata

If all the film-festival awards this movie has won haven't convinced you to see it, then my review probably will not either. Regardless, it is important to know how well-done this movie truly is. Nino Manfredi does an absolutely stellar performance as a poor Italian immigrant trying to fit in in a world which dislikes him and his kind. From the start, this seems like a regular enjoyable comedy, but quickly transitions into both a comedy and a drama. On the one-hand, Manfredi's Chaplinesque "loveable loser" character is both endearing and hilarious. On the other hand, the film offers true insight into the problem of immigrational bias and cultural dissimilarity, and a stabbing insight into the premise of a national identity; how it is both meaningless and yet extremely important. This film deserves every award it received and then some.

I was four when Bread and Chocolate played at a small theater in San Francisco. My mother decided to take me(no babysitter). The story I've heard many, many times was that I was upset with her that she wouldn't (although now I realize it was more that she couldn't) read the subtitles to me. I eventually became frustrated with her and moved two isles over. My mom has said that she would turn to watch me and although I couldn't truly read the subtitle or comprehend the language, I laughed continually throughout the movie. She said I truly enjoyed Bread and Chocolate. Many years later I rented the movie and it's amazing. It's exactly as I remembered it. Truly a gem of a movie, though the second time around I was able to fully grasp the meaning of this movie. It's universal and it's timeless. I now own this on DVD and have enjoyed sharing it with my family and friends. Certainly a must see movie!

Great tale about the "joys" of being an immigrant in 70's Switzerland and being rejected from their society for anything other than for labor.

It's all in the title, no connection to the popular "pane e Stella" Italian snack here, rather the bread is a metaphor for the immigrants who have little choice but working abroad to put bread on their families table, while the chocolate refers to the luxury Swiss product and symbolizes that country's wealth. It's bread and chocolate as in rich and poor, as in eating for survival as opposed to eating for pleasure, as in immigrant and swiss, etc.

I saw this film when it first came out and fell in love with it.

Having spent some time in Switzerland, I knew the truth of the rejection of foreign workers, and I saw the places where they lived in great poverty, in the midst of rich, glittering inter- national crowds. The bigotry was (and still is to a great

extent) painfully true.

This is one of those marvelous films that makes one cry and laugh, almost simultaneously. As many have said before, it is Chaplinesque.

I especially appreciated hearing the various languages actually spoken by the characters - German, Italian, Greek, Turkish. The subtitles help the viewer very well indeed, but the sound of the actual languages enhances the verisimilitude of the story.

Just recently I have, after more than 20 years of searching, discovered that this film is on video tape, and I can't wait to acquire it - at long last!

For the Italian cinema this is an important film. Not only because there's a big actor -Nino Manfredi- but because it's based on real situations of the time it was made...

In the Sixties and Seventies Italian and Spanish workers were the biggest immigrant groups in Switzerland. "Pane e cioccolata" talks about the experiences and difficulties of an Italian waiter in this country. Of course, some situations are caricatural, nevertheless the movie still keeps its strength because everything it's credible.

Manfredi's character wants to remain in Switzerland because he believes he can make enough money to help his family, he dreams of carrying there wife and children and giving them a better life. We laugh a lot, at the same time there's much sadness because we see someone who tries everything to integrate in another society, without success.

A bittersweet comedy, Italians are among the best moviemakers for mixing different feelings and talking about life.