Marriage Italian Style (1964)

Truly Dreadful Film

ridiculous rating

A Masterpiece!

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Vittorio De Sica's Marriage Italian Style (1964) is really a great film. It's one of the very best, in my opinion.It is too simplistic just to mindlessly pigeonhole this fine film as a "comedy", or even as a "romantic comedy". This film, although it does seem to begin as a comedy, smoothly transitions into a compelling drama. Overall, this film transcends simple taxonomic categories because, in many ways, it successfully portrays the subtle manifold complexities of life, which defies simple categorization itself.This film has no "deep meaning", or abstract symbolisms. It is just a a fine example of compelling cinematic storytelling. And what a story it tells. It is a story of a beautiful young woman from an impoverished background who finds herself selling her own body just for economic survival. It is the story of a prostitute who actually falls in love with one of her wealthy clients, a client who superficially seems to be in love with her too, but who really can never consider her more than a human "object", bought and paid for, a human "object" who is not socially suitable for marriage because of her background. It is a story of two people finally marrying, being able to transcend the difference of social status and social ranking that has long separated them. It is a story of a mother who never abandoned her children, although circumstances conspired to keep her physically and socially distant from them for many years. It is a story of three brothers who grew up never knowing each other, finally uniting with each other, and the mother that they never knew. In short, the story told in this film is not a simple one, indeed. It is a panoramic portrayal of human life of epic proportions. This is a very detailed, and nuanced portrayal too, exposing the passions, the spirit, the foibles, the sincerities, the vanities, and the glories of human existence. Yet, for all of that, this fine filmmaker, was able, at the same time, to simply tell a very interesting and very entertaining story too.There are those today who might complain that this film is not "politically correct" because it portrays a woman who spends her life enduring the sexual exploitation, and the social domination of an indifferent and powerful man. Although this may be true, it is for this very reason that I feel that this is an important film to view even decades after it's release. That is because it is, in some ways, an historical record of the social norms, and the social attitudes of Italian society circa the 1960's, and to a certain extent accurately portrays the norms and attitudes about gender relations prevalent throughout Western Culture at that time. It is also an important film to view today because in the nuanced and extended transitional interaction between the main characters, we can see much of the man-woman relationship that is still prevalent, and still relevant today. For instance, this film believably portrays a twenty two year relationship between a couple that spans the spectrum from a prostitute-client relationship, to a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, to a live in mistress/business associate-employer relationship, to a wife-husband relationship. Yet, the director succeeds to deliberately, and effectively "blur" the boundaries between the various stages of this long, and extended man-woman relationship. In short, the answer to the question: "When did the woman in this relationship stop being a prostitute?" is not easy to discern. More important is the question: "Did this woman ever effectively stop being this man's prostitute, even after he finally married her?" Given the social and sexual attitudes of the man in this relationship, it is justifiable to argue that this man will always, at some level, consider this woman to be his "whore", even after legitimizing their relationship through the social artifice of marriage. This whole issue brings to light an element of gender relations that is still very relevant today, that, in one way or another, a woman is coerced by society to "sell" her sexuality every day, and even in marriage just to achieve her personal goals in life.The performances by Mastroianni and Loren in this film were superb, and were enhanced by the palpable chemistry that obviously exists between them. These fine actors both gave nuanced and subtle performances that brought the complex storyline of this film to life in a way that most other actors just are not capable of doing.Overall, this film really boggles my mind when I try to reconcile how such a deep and expansive portrayal of human life can be, at the same time, just so entertaining, and just so much fun to watch. In that respect, De Sica's production here is very Shakespearean, indeed.20 Stars !!!

First of all I think the naming of the movie was rather irrelevant... "Marriage Italian Style"! Well it was about everything but Italian style marriage. They named it after the great "Divorce Italian Style" to lure audience into cinema but that's not really important. It was a descent movie despite the Very flat opening, cheesy flash backs, Not so great performances but overall probably because of chemistry between Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni it turned out to be a memorable romance drama movie which doesn't hurt to watch but not essential. I can't think it could be better than this because the potential was very limited in first place. For what it was, it was a good NOT AWARD WORTHY movie.

The film employs a tremendously perky rhythm and register to showcase the traits of the earthly Italy at its post-war development, even though essentially the overwrought kernel of a prostitute's tribulations could hardly appropriate as a comedy material. Vittorio De Sica's camera enigmatically haunts and pivots around two leads' present and past, the intangible love/hate chaos is disarmingly intriguing and subconsciously imbues the audience with a fervent compassion towards Sophia Loren's unswerving while passionate Filumena. The leading performance is worth of much accolade, especially for Sophia Loren, whose full-brown force of personality spanning over 20 years in the film and indisputably devotes a magnificent performance with all her zest and vigor. Marcello Mastroianni, is great as well, to hone up his versatility and render the womanizer an ambiguous moral criterion which is a more delicate task. I cannot help being fascinated by the exquisite script as well, credited by five names, no wonder all the twists and turns are so fruitful in a way that both surprising and amusing. Nominated for 2 Oscars (BEST FOREIGN FILM and a second BEST ACTRESS nomination for Loren) and is a milestone which not only represents Loren's heyday but also is a comforting fruition of Loren-Conti correlation. Maybe it is not director De Sica's best canon due to its slight superficiality of machismo, which I sense may not be the director's fault as it is a general bias lies in all over the globe. Anyway, the film itself surely is a fine piece captures a genuine Italian aura (the Naples' style) and definitely worth your pocket.

Sophia Loren was the greatest actress of her generation when directed by Vittorio De Sica. Watching "Marriage Italian Style" in 2009 confirms that notion, totally. She is mesmerizing in this tragicomic creation by the great Neapolitan author Edoardo De Filippo. We manage to travel away from her external beauty, not an easy thing to do, and dive into her interior beauty and Oh God, how extraordinary! She is beyond truthful, she transforms the most basic element in a woman's heart into pure undiluted art. I was surprised to realize what a villain Domenico Soriano (Marcello Mastroianni) was. And he is the romantic counterpart! Here is where the Italians excel. What a terrifying act of self examination. The Italian male, as written by De Filippo, directed by De Sica and interpreted by the amazing Mastroianni is an everyday, almost acceptable monster in a society that breathes this kind of monster. Strange watching this now, Italy then, as far as women were concerned, were not that far away from a Muslim country. Women's role was basically subservient and a character like Mastroianni's could forge ahead un-accused and unrepentant. Besides the magic of the storytelling and the incredible performance by La Loren, this is is an excruciating document of its day.