User Reviews

Imagine the life of Baron Ferdinando Cefalu, an impoverished middle aged man who has fallen in love with his young cousin Angela. In the society of Agramonte, Sicily, of that time, being poor was endurable, but the pangs of love Ferdinando feels in his heart, is consuming him, but his bigger problem is he is married to Rosalia, a woman who truly loves him, or so it seems. What could a man do in Ferdinando's shoes? Nothing, since in the Italy of those years divorce was not allowed, either by the state, or the church.

The only possible solution to solve Ferdinando's problems is in trying to kill Rosalia. In the Italian penal code of the times, people could plea guilty in trying to avenge their honor and would get lesser sentences. Rosalia, who has no idea of what's going on, has a secret of her own. Years ago, she had been in love with Carmelo Patane, a man who went to war and on his return found that his beloved Rosalia had already married Baron Ferdinando! It's the Baron, who discovers the letters Rosalia likes to read on the sly, late at night.

Ferdinando devises a plan that will bring Carmelo to repaint some of the frescoes of the old palatial home, hoping Rosalia and the painter will try to reacquaint themselves, as it's obvious that even though Carmelo is married, he still loves Rosalia! The Baron, who has bought a tape recorder, and spies on his wife and the painter, knows the end is in sight and gambling on getting a short jail time, goes ahead with his plans. Little does he know what his life with Angela will be like!

"Divorce Italian Style", directed by Pietro Germi, was a satire about Italian law that allowed such practices to take place. In a complete Catholic society, people got married for life, literally. Since there was no divorce, couples who found out they were not compatible had to keep on staying married because divorce was not an option. Pietro Germi and his collaborators take a look at how, with some clever research, imagination, and ingenuity, an unhappily married man could get a release from those restricting marital vows.

Marcello Mastroianni was perfect as Baron Ferdinando Cefalu. The actor clearly knew this man and the mentality of men like his character. His facial expressions are worth the price of the rental of this wonderful Criterion DVD. Mastroianni, one of the best film actors of his generation gives one of the best performances of his career. Daniella Rocca, who plays Rosalia, makes a great contribution to make this film the winner it is. Leopoldo Trieste, another important figure in the Italian cinema, appears as Carmelo Patane, the painter who never stopped loving Rosalia. Stefania Sandrelli, is seen briefly as the object of Ferndinando's passion and love.

The DVD transfer has kept the film black and white cinematography of Carlo DiPalma and Leonida Barboni intact. We can see the sunny Sicilian town in all its splendor as captured by the camera of these men. Pietro Germi, the director and co-writer, delivered a film that is a classic because of the humanity, love and humor that went into this tremendously satisfying work.

Divorzio all'Italiana (1961)is the story of a man's gradual decline,the Sicilian Baron Cefalú who,disgusted with his wife (Daniela Rocca) and her advances,aims at a very young woman's charms,and he finds her in his own household.To be with her,the fretted Baron has to get rid of his boring wife.So,the movie is in the "how to kill your ..." scheme.

Good-looking,sly,randy,lithe, almost young,Marcello Mastroianni wants to escape from his marriage's mire;his smoldering passion for the graceful Stefania Sandrelli (here,a teenager) breaks out,after a series of fortuitous encounters with the child:he runs into her in the street, on the beach,in the church.The girl's secret diary confesses that the erotic feelings are mutual.The film records this crescendo,the multiple factors that compete to bring the two hearts together.But Stefania Sandrelli's grumpy father has no respect for privacy,and reads her diary ....

Marcello Mastroianni's role as Cefalú is brilliant,staggering, astonishing, much above the sarcastic,shameless story.In his bright 30s and 40s,Marcello Mastroianni,here 37 years old,and one year after The Sweet Life,made several sex comedies (Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow ; Matrimonio all'Italiana ,1964;Oggi, Domani, Dopodomani ,1965;L'Uomo Dei Cinque Palloni,1965;Casanova '70,1965;A Slightly Pregnant Man,etc.), giving constantly radiant and wonderfully inspired performances that are among cinema's gems.

One can not speak about Marcello Mastroianni otherwise than with infinite respect.He belongs to the rank of the greatest film actors ever,on a par with Pierre Fresnay,Louis Jouvet,Michel Simon,Simone Signoret, Jeanne Moreau,Gérard Depardieu,Erich Von Stroheim ,James Cagney.

Now,one word about my favorite actress,Stefania Sandrelli.I admire her since I was 18 years old.Her stunning role as Angela is one of the two definitive expressions of her sexuality (the other being Teresa Rolfe in La Chiave, 1983).

Divorce, Italian Style is the sheer definition of the level of showmanship that even the popular Italian cinema reached in the '60s.It evokes the Meridional communal existence ,the family life of a Sicilian baron,and his retreats counterpoise his family life (wife,sister,genitors,etc.).The strength of this brutal and gruesome sex comedy is its low-brow self assurance.Yet,it has a finesse,a cynicism that do not recommend it to the adolescence's mind;it is simultaneously brutal and of a certain fineness,it demands,to be enjoyed,interest for life.

The music is languorous and desirous in the first half,and funeral in the second.

In Divorzio all'Italiana (1961),the nudity,that is Stefania Sandrelli's ,skimps to a naked spotless shoulder,and her body is more bright,tender and luminous than ever.

The erotic run in this movie,the sex race,is symmetrical to the one to be found in another famous Italian sex comedy,Malèna (2000).The barrister is the same,his pleading ,his declamation arise from the same chasm of ridicule.The provincial society is,also,the very same."Divorzio ..." is a more cynical,derisive, biting satire,Pietro Germi is a more brutal and corrosive satirist than Giuseppe Tornatore, and less indignant.

Having already done remarkable ,defining roles in The Night ,The Sweet Life ,White Nights ,Chronicle of Poor Lovers,Marcello Mastroianni's role in "Divorzio ..." is a fashioned,vigorous,resourceful and vivid expression of his charm and intelligence.He is drowsy,sagging,bored,he becomes tetchy and devilish,then bewildered,then blasé.At first,he seems an almost entitled,in his exasperation,gentleman,but then,he comes out as a dullard,a rather disgusting profligate,a wanton dolt. Gradually,the philanderer Cefalú looses our sympathy.

On its level,this vulgar and lively,fast paced comedy is somehow flawless.But its real value comes from the quality of its two leads. The entire cast is deserving and skilled (Daniela Rocca,Margherita Girelli,Leopoldo Trieste ...),but Marcello Mastroianni and Stefania Sandrelli are,here,at their energies' peak;an early one,for Stefania Sandrelli.

I remember Mastroianni dreaming of transforming his wife into soap,or of sending her in space as a laughing Gagarin.Quite fallow jokes,but Marcello Mastroianni gives them force.

Daniela Rocca had a short career,only a few movies in the '50s and '60s.

Pietro Germi made several interesting movies,the last one is from 1972; he died in 1974.

"Divorzio all'italiana" or "Divorce Italian Style" is an Italian Italian-language movie from 1961, so this one will soon be 60 years old. The director is Pietro Germi, not necessarily a name you think of immediately when you think of the defining filmmakers of Italian cinema like Antonioni, Fellini, Argento, maybe Rohmer, but probably in the next category then. He is also part of the writing team and it is not too uncommon to see really quite a few writers working on one movie as for Italian films, this was a bit of a rule back then and not the exception. It also means more shared praise for everybody as the three writers here won a screenplay Oscar for their work, perhaps a bit helped with the fact that all the big American players awards-wise that year ended up in the other screenplay category, but still a big triumph. In general, this movie received a great deal of awards recognition. Germi also got in for Best Director and for actor Mastroianni, this was an effort that got him a lead actor nomination, apparently the very first for anybody for a completely foreign language performance plus a Golden Globe win. Daniela Rocca, who plays his wife in here, received a BAFTA nomination at least and she was way younger than i thought she would be when I watched the film, barely in her mid-20s. It is certainly a bit ironic and also tragic to read that she totally fell for Germi during the filming of this film and her unrequited love clearly hurt her mental state and probably also kept her career, maybe even her life shorter than it could have been. Oh well, lets not get any further into detail about that. Italy picked another film as their official submission to the Oscars that year, which even if that one also managed 2 nominations, may not have been the greatest choice as this one here could have won foreign language Feature over the actual French winner. We'll never know.

Back to the movie. Mastroianni really is the film from beginning to end during these 105 minutes. Also he reminded me a bit of Buster Keaton physically at times. Anyway, this is the story of a man who is married to a semi-attractive wife who is seemingly crazy about him, but he not so much about her. His focus is clearly way more on the attractive very young cousin as he keeps heading upstairs to watch the latter sleep and changes looks with her. This is also where I can mention the comedy aspect right away. There is drama in this movie and I will get to that later, but there is also a whole lot of comedy from beginning to end. With the peeking scene I just mentioned, it must be a bit of a generic thing because the protagonist's dad has a tendency to do the exact same. As for Mastroianni, there are scenes when we find out he is also quite a narcissist, maybe even a sociopath who loves really nobody except himself. This is especially funny when he talks about his physical appearance as I believe back in the day Mastroianni was seen by many of a sex icon and highly desirable man, so seeing him funnily and (intendedly clumsy) mock himself about how attractive he is, that was great fun.

Another fairly lengthy reference I liked was how the film reference "La dolce vita", probably Mastroianni's career-defining film from one year earlier, and there was so much of this film in terms of talk (about running time e.g.), posters and even characters watching it at a theater that it was already then obvious apparently, it was a bit of a classic. Of course, you never saw Mastroianni referenced whatsoever despite playing the main character. Okay, that was not necessarily funny, or just in a special way, but there are other funny moments. Funny characters like the not very Italian looking attorney or Mr. Grimface are included as running gags on several occasions. Or some slapstick at times even involving the main character's sister and how she is constantly caught in the act with her lover by the main character and feels so embarrassed while the protagonist (who catches them) really couldn't care less. This is a bit of a running gag, so I was slightly surprised by the fact that we eventually find out he left the sister and they tried to give it at least a bit of a plot. Anyway, away from that back to the key story. i already said the main character was a bit of a psychopath and this fits in nicely with his idea of divorcing his wife, which was not an option however, so he had to find another way. And he informs himself on what happens from a legal perspective if one kills his partner when catching her in the act with somebody else. He is willing to accept these not very few years in jail for getting away from his wife and with the beautiful young cousin Angela. It sure helps him that his wife indeed does have an affair with a former soldier, now artist. Initially, he is not amused at all and there is quite a contradiction about him drooling all over Angela, but not willing to accept his wife's cheating. There is even a scene when he checks out her effect on other men and if they still see her as desirable. But the he quickly moves on to his murder plot. By the way I kinda kept wondering how all the men had certain girls they were after here, but nobody really cared in depth about the stunning young maid. There is just one scene when the wife's lover gets closer to her and Mastroianni's character interrupts them in the most hilarious manner. Another funny scene. One character who is not at all about funny and enters the film in the final third is the lover's wife who is not amused at all about what her man does. There is no elaboration on how she found out and how she even knew Ferdinando (Mastroianni) knew as well, so the humiliation scene at the funeral felt a bit unrealistic, but it is okay I guess. The funeral by the way was for Angela's father, who accidentally got a love letter from his daughter to Ferdinando and died from a heart attack as a consequence, so you see Ferdinando's path is kinda plastered with death even. So no surprise he really shoots his wife at the end and does get away with his scheme. But even there with a scene when two people are murdered (the lover's wife is living our "hero"s dream before that), the writers make sure it won't be too serious or shocking. We see no blood, we only hear the gunshots. After a brief prison sentence, the main character is free, marries Angela and happily spends his freetime with her on a boat. But just like that, Germi won't let the dirty rotten protagonist not get away and the final shot is very telling. You will know what I mean when you see it. Overall I think this was a pretty entertaining watch from beginning to end and I can see why it won an Oscar and has such a high rating here on imdb. I would not say it was really great and it did not make me want to see Mastroianni's other "Italian Way" stuff immediately, but it was pretty good with some great moments and it sure is one of the defining films from the then booking Italian comedy genre. I was lucky and happy to see it on a big screen on the occasion of a film retrospective here in Berlin. If you get the same occasion, don't miss out! It will be an entertaining evening for sure.

I love this movie. It's one of those masterpieces in which everything - direction, acting, script, music - is so flawless, the result is almost miraculous. This wickedly funny gem by Pietro Germi is one of the greatest Italian comedies, and also a biting satire.

Sicilian baron Fernando Cefalù (Mastroianni, exceptional) falls in love with Angela (Stefania Sandrelli). To marry her, Fernando needs to get rid of his annoying wife Rosalia (Daniela Rocca), so he manipulates his spouse into betraying him with Carmelo (Leopoldo Trieste); according to the old Italian penal code, any husband who killed an adulterous wife would get a mere three years sentence.

Mastroianni carries the movie with a note-perfect performance as the baron, a deadpan, amoral man with an utterly phoney sense of honor. Pirandello would have loved this two-faced character. Supporting actors are wonderful too, from Daniela Rocca as the archetypal obnoxious wife to Leopoldo Trieste as her awkward lover, from young Stefania Sandrelli to minor players in small roles (like the pompous lawyer or the mob boss).

The Academy Award-winning script has an hilariously cynical streak. The soundtrack is genius and used in an unforgettable way - who can forget the sardonic march as Cefalù struts around the town while everybody whispers behind his back?

10/10

Apparently many people love Divorzio all'italiana. I have to say that although the film is beautiful (as are all Criterion Collection films, in my experience), the content is rather unsavory. I realize that it is supposed to be a comedy, but that's just the problem: it's not very funny. Is it? The story is of a baron who has grown tired of his wife after twelve years of marriage (sound familiar?) and is now smitten with a "fresh" sixteen-year-old (sound familiar?). Being a man of leisure, he has nothing better to do than sit around fantasizing about how to get rid of his wife. That's because they are in Sicily, so straightforward divorce is apparently out of the question. Instead, he wants to get her to cheat on him so that he can then kill her in an act of "honor". Really? This is comedy? I found it nearly impossible to sympathize with any of the characters and simply disagree that most of the scenes are funny. Sorry fans!

This is a very fun film starring Marcello Mastroianni by director Pietro Germi (both received Oscar nominations) which received the Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen Oscar in 1963, as well as numerous other awards.

Ferdinando Cefalú (Mastroianni) is married to Rosalia (Daniela Rocca), a woman who is suffocating him with her love. They live in a large Italian family villa such that his beautiful 16 year old niece Angela (Stefania Sandrelli), to whom he is irresistibly drawn, lives across the courtyard from him.

He witnesses a court case about a woman who has murdered her philandering husband and fantasizes about ridding himself of his own wife. However, he must figure out how to get away with it so that he will only have to serve a short time behind bars ... in order to be young enough to pursue his comely niece. When he learns of his niece's attraction to him, he plots to find a lover for his wife to justify her murder.

You can almost watch the entire thing without sound. Of course, it's in Italian with English subtitles. Funny, slapstick humor abounds.