A friend had a wonderful idea. After the depressing presence of the Italian entries at this 2007 Venice Film Festival, he suggested to get together around a table with good food and wine a watch a movie, an Italian movie and not one of the usual masterpieces that we all talk about all the time. He chose Mario Monicelli's "Risate Di Gioa" with Anna Magnani, Totò and Ben Gazzara. Oh my God! All of a sudden it became one of my favorite films of all time. It all takes place during a New Year's eve in Rome and I'm at a loss for words trying to explain the brilliance of this dark "minor" Italian comedy. A blonde Anna Magnani plays a film extra at the Cinecitta studios and Totò a petty thief in white tie and tails. Funny, moving, extraordinary in some many ways. Why have we moved so far away from this? Can somebody explain it?
Review of The Passionate Thief
