skulli99

The sex just adds tension to the film, but it gives a good insight into greedy peasant like attitude to morals (non really), and other universal values. It's about getting sex, money and lazy comfortable life, with least amount of effort.

A symbolic scene is while checking the property of rich heiress, he (Ugos character) even climbs on its wall to count the number of hens, cocks and chickens in their pen...so I can be sure, not only that he will be well fed, but the woman is indeed wealthy! How can you go wrong...if she has 30 hens in the pen ! Very peasant attitude to wealth!

Even Ugo Tognazzi, commented he liked the depiction of provincial, 'petite bourgeoise', quite vulgar, and greedy Italy in this film ! Of course, all this is done in a dark comedy ....with an odd happy ending twist. The three spinster sisters become the loose women of the town, while 'Ugo's character is reduced to be immobile in a wheelchair , after getting a seizure for having too much extra-marital sex !

Not much of a story, like in "un homme, une femme"(also with a famous song in the film) , its real strength is the atmosphere it invokes, - the desolute landscape which accentuates the feeling of loneliness, the truculent male star, the hard stares from the judging locals, the weak and fragmented dialogue, the not too bright couple who were madly in love, it's just one of those films that you can't forget, and of course, very french in style, ....the scenes of anal sex were unnecessary, but the film was released in the 1970's so a bit of scandal , only helped to sell more the film to the public.

I think a remake of this film in the US, could be done nowadays. Filmed in the plains of the Midwest, in some god forgotten village, it would be a hit, especially considering the amount of free publicity US films get !

I remembered seeing it on Italian TV as a child and even then I liked it, seeing it again yesterday, I thought it wouldn't resist the test of time, instead, I throughly enjoyed it.... for all the qualities you don't see in films nowadays, (especially in modern Italian films).

Briefly, a tale of a cultivated(Vittorio de Sica), educated, charming middle-aged womanizing, newly installed chief of the traffic police (complete with resplendid uniform including white gloves), whom on arriving at his long lost native Sorrento , finds his family home occupied/squatted by a beautiful fishmonger (sofia Loren, at her most splendid).While starting procedures of evicting her he also starts courting her, with poetic citations, charming one liners and complements, inducing the jealousy of her semi - boyfriend/suitor.Complicating matters further, the haunty, aloof but good looking noble woman owner of the house where Vittorio is temporarily living , falls for Vittorio.But all this happens in a semi comic and humorous vein...after all it's a romantic comedy. The film ends with a typical happy ending...but the whole film is held up by the old world charms of Vittorio de Sica....Sofia loren acted well too.

I sometimes wonder if its possible nowadays to make a remake of this film, ....but sometimes I feel it wouldn't work....no female nudity,no profanitites, no sex, and no vulgarities...while I feel I'm in a minority in appreciating good taste, it seems not so with, modern day film or/and TV producers who always want to 'modernize' their 'art' with the aforementioned charateristics. A real pity,... perhaps a new film style could be a return to class and good taste.