User reviews

First I gotta say how great Alberto and Monica are as a duo. I already knew that, but this movie proves that once again. This movie should be more known definitely. The story itself is really original and there are a couple of twists that make the story really interesting. There's a lot of good comedy, but also some pretty dramatic moments. The shift was kinda very sudden and unexpected. But all in all, it is a really good movie that doesn't deserve to be forgotten. Would recommend!

The film has some imperfections, such as the fact that only an absolutely idiotic private detective can follow someone only by the license plate of a car, the first important thing being the person's identity, name, surname and, absolutely mandatory, a photo of the person being followed. Then, all we see in the films filmed by the private detective, which Fabio (Alberto Sordi) watches in the country house, are scenes that are too intimate down to the smallest detail, in terms of image and sound, which would could be almost impossible for a private detective to obtain. Overcoming these flaws, the film is captivating. Certainly, everything is due to Monica Vitti and Alberto Sordi, the greatest comedic and dramatic actors of all time. If there were two other actors, the film would not be as good.

For some reasons, this movie seems to be totally forgotten, though it deserves better. Alberto Sordi is a great comic actor, and here he is at his best. By sheer accident, private investigators begin surveillance of his wife, and he comes to know many surprising things about her and himself, sometimes upsetting, sometimes moving, and mostly very funny. It is a very Italian movie, and at the same time very universal in its view of everyday life.

It is surprising to me how little is this movie known, even in Italy. I watched it when I was a child and then again as an adult, and I always found it simple and impressive.

Sure, the idea that the private inspector might follow the wrong person is silly, but the personal path of the couple played by Alberto Sordi and Monica Vitti is realistic and convincing.

Many of the movies made by Alberto Sordi had simple messages, and this one as well, something that based on popular wisdom, not on intellectual sophistication, and I think that this coherence with his believes gives the movie its strength.

For some reasons, this movie seems to be totally forgotten, though it deserves better. Alberto Sordi is a great comic actor, and here he is at his best. By sheer accident, private investigators begin surveillance of his wife, and he comes to know many surprising things about her and himself, sometimes upsetting, sometimes moving, and mostly very funny. It is a very Italian movie, and at the same time very universal in its view of everyday life. I just wished it would be somehow available in the US.