Un thé avec Mussolini

Original title: Un tè con Mussolini

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

15K

YOUR RATING

Cher, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Lily Tomlin, Joan Plowright, and Claudio Spadaro in Un thé avec Mussolini (1999)

An orphaned Italian boy is raised amongst a circle of British and American women living in Mussolini's Italy before and during World War II.

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An orphaned Italian boy is raised amongst a circle of British and American women living in Mussolini's Italy before and during World War II.An orphaned Italian boy is raised amongst a circle of British and American women living in Mussolini's Italy before and during World War II.An orphaned Italian boy is raised amongst a circle of British and American women living in Mussolini's Italy before and during World War II.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

15K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 5 wins & 3 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 2:10

Trailer

Photos46

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Storyline

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Trivia
Cher has stated that the only reason she took the part of Elsa was because Writer and Director Franco Zeffirelli said he could only see her and no other actress in the role.

Goofs
The tanks the Germans ride in are, in fact, U.S. Army M4 Shermans, not German-built Panzers.

Quotes
Lady Hester: The Germans and the Italians couldn't get rid of us. There is absolutely no reason why we should surrender to the Scots.

Alternate versions
The MGM DVD, ISBN 0-7928-4300-2, is missing least one shot: The original tea with Mussolini scene ends with Mussolini forcing himself upon the reporter, forcing her onto his desk (i.e., he rapes her.) This DVD omits that ending and leaves the reporter's change in behavior unexplained.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Soundtracks
Mattinata Fiorentina
Written by Giovanni D'Anzi (as D'Anzi) and Michele Galdieri (as Galdieri)
Performed by Alberto Rabagliati

User reviews168

Featured review

9/10

Un tè con mussolini é bello!

This film could have been titled 'four crazy grannies' for the marvelous portrayal of little old ladies, each more eccentric than the next. Like the comedy team of Matthau and Lemon, Dench, Smith and Plowright have a chemistry that is explosive.

Maggie Smith played a role that she has spent a lifetime perfecting. She captivates us as a snobbish dowager, tantalizes us with her improbable tea party and brings us to tears when she demonstrates her capacity to grow.

Although she may not have wowed us with her Shakespeare, Joan Plowright's compassion for her sudden charge made me wish (that at age 32) she would adopt me. Her love of the classics, remind us that art, literature and friends can help us transcend life's constant miseries.

Cher demonstrated that she could act in any time period. While Dame Judi Dench (not allowing herself to be typecast as a Queen) portrays a particularly pitiful creature as an aging artist with more passion than talent.

This film sends a clear message to Hollywood: experience and talent win out over T&A.

Applause at the end of this movie is to be expected.

Brava!