Marriage Italian Style, based on the play by Eduardo De Filippo and directed by Vittorio De Sica - 9.5 out of 10

Marriage Italian Style, based on the play by Eduardo De Filippo and directed by Vittorio De Sica

9.5 out of 10

The sublime trio that have given the audiences this Magnum opus are part of the History of the Cinema, together with the other Gods, and Marriage Italian Style has been included on the New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made list - https://www.listchallenges.com/new-york-times-best-1000-movies-ever-made/list/14 - and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, Best foreign Picture and Best Actress in a Leading role for the ravishing, spectacular Sophia Loren as Filumena Marturano, the heroine of Matrimonio all’italiana.

Filumena Marturano is the partner of Domenico ‘Dumi’ Soriano, though the issue of Marriage is much more complicated and if and when it happens, it would be in Italian Style, as in loud, radiant, trepidating, merry, confusing and contested, for in the first few scenes we see that the heroine is brought in a car, so ill that she has to be carried around, a doctor is called for and then the priest, for she seems to need the last rites, because her state is so poor that she looks she has very few to nonexistent chances to still be around for long, when Don Dumi arrives, looks at her with sorrow and sympathy, even if we have seen him in the company of a much younger woman – ‘2o or 22, what does it matter’ as he would say in a confrontation with his partner –enemy, when she would accuse him of an affair with someone inappropriately young…

This crisis is the occasion for the man to look back at memories – and then as in the Maroon 5 song, ‘memories bring back memories of you’- at the time when he had met the then seventeen year old woman, in a brothel that had just come under attack, bombs are falling around so that the clients and the sex workers, as we call them today, are rushing in a panic, though the Madame has an argument with a man who had not paid, saying he had not ‘finished to which the matron responds in agitation…in one hour! What do you mean?’-

The two start a tumultuous, trepidating, often, if not most of the time conflictual relationship that would last for many years ’all’italiana’, for they would meet again after the encounter in the brothel, during the bombardment taking place during World War II, when the girl was too scared to understand what was going on, claiming she had been in hiding for the last three days, unwilling to exit with all the others who had tried to find refuge and avoid being blown away by the bombs, eventually comforted, consoled by the man who would make love to her – probably not illegal in that age when they had a millions of people dying all over the world – well, America was safe – a dramatic moment, the girl would record the moment when the would be son of the lover would be born, though we would not know for a long time, perhaps to the very end, who is the son and more importantly, Domenico would have to keep guessing in an amusing manner…

When the well-off businessman drives in his convertible car, he sees an attractive woman that drives in a packed to the brim mini bus and they start talking and she reminds him of their brief, though intimate contact during the just finished war and then she is invited to come with him in the car, after a complex move from the vehicle, where a very interested man comes to offer to take her through the window, just to hold the impressive, splendorous, adorable woman and as she jokes, hoping to get a glance under her skirt…another lucky passenger has the chance to difficultly squeeze in the precious place left by the escaping Aphrodite…

Enchanted with the woman who had had to become a prostitute – she would tell this horrible story at one point, how at the age of sixteen – was it? – she grew to be notices by her father – who had paid no notice before – and the nearby baker and given their destitution, the ignoble, monstrous parent would push her to gain bread, food by exploiting her body – Don Dumi would place her in apartment, where an official would come to claim some rights on behalf of the authorities, only to have the situation somewhat cleared by the owner, Mr. Marturano, in a moment which provides humor, with the complicated, rather absurd way that legal, paper matters are dealt with in Italy and elsewhere…

Filumena or Filume’ as her lover calls her would work hard to help the business of her partner, in many ways, apparently without much recognition or expression of gratitude, prompting her when they reach a nadir – actually there must have been quite  a few before – and the confrontation is both humorous and tragic, because the scheme she can think of involves the sickness we have witnessed in the opening scenes, but as we watch Domenico agreeing to marry the moribund, in front of the priest and the devoted Alfredo and Rosalia (both of whom pledge allegiance to the more merit worthy of the two…Filumena obviously), and then see him calling his much younger mistress that had been organizing their…wedding, we are surprised to observe the dying consort come to the philandering husband to make a scene…

The newly wed is aghast at this trick, realizing that the wife had played the dying patent only to catch him in a trap and the clash is amusing, for she states that there is no way for him to send her out, though he shouts at the top of his voice and calls her names, because she is the lawful spouse now and there is no way for the law to act against this…however, the furious man, who had expected this marital ceremony to be the premise of an imminent death and then freedom again, engages a lawyer and the two explain to the illiterate Filumena that the marriage is void, she had tried to use tricks, legal terms are used and she concludes that she has no idea what they are talking about, but in burst of rage and pride, she decides to leave saying that she would have none of this anymore, she does not want him…

Nevertheless, Domenico Soriano finds in astonishment that Filumena has not one, but three children – he finds about this in stages – and furthermore, Mamma Mia, he is the father of one and though he disputes this and says it is just a lie, another scheme to catch him, he finds he is increasingly suspicious and then he starts visiting the three sons and hilariously examines the features, seemingly finding the same chin and nose in one, then looking at the hands of the next, at another stage he tries to hear them singing, thinking of his talent as a child, so one tries and the result is devastating, for he has no musical sense, and to make matters worse, or actually mirthful, the three of the boys have a recital where we can see just how bad some people can sing…well use their musical chords, since singing is not what they do there…

The director of this divine comedy drama is the other God of Cinema, Vittorio De Sica - http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-earrings-of-madame-de-based-on.html - or Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/03/ieri-oggi-domani-aka-yesterday-today.html - then The Garden of Finzi-Contis - http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/07/note-on-garden-of-finzi-contis-directed.html -or La Ciociara http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/06/la-ciociara-aka-two-women-based-on.html