Rating: 
Summary: A story of freedom and value
Review: An italian housewife hurried and rushed through her yearly vacation by her husband's brusqueness accidentally gets left behind by the tour bus.
She tries to reunite with the tour group, only to be sidetracked by her own imagination of the possibilities. Smidgens of her imagination and guilt at pursuing this route come back as dreams.Anyone who at some point in times in their lives has wanted to explore the "What if" of the path they have not taken can appreciate this story of the housewife that explores it. You can see that she feels that giving her all in her family is not really appreciated. Her all, is marginally on their radar screen, while not providing her with a sense that she is living her own life, following her own dreams and interests. Well this mistake in their vacation plans has changed all that. Fate has intervened She winds up in Venice, some place she has never visited and meets a widower, who is on the brink of suicide, a single woman on the far side of left and winds up working in a florist shop of a man with a true appreciation of his art. He is also a bit daft as well. With this group of misfits she begins to redefine who she is on her own terms. It is a fun movie that can show how confining and comfortable ruts can be, despite their lack of fit. I'm not saying we should all throw caution to the wind, but recognizing your own value and that you too have a right to a life, is a point often missed by many, even those with a capability of changing all that.. A fun movie and one that emphasizes the potential in us all.
Rating: 
Summary: a social critique on Itailan machismo- but not too many laug
Review: At first the movie got off to a slow start, but then once new characters became invovled in the plot, things started to change for the protagonist. The movie is a cross between Desparately Seeking Susan with Madonna and Just Married... At parts you will be waiting for the ending to come, which you know what it is.
This movie examines Italian machismo and makes an interesting statement by staying that Fernando is the man for her. Fernando, is not like her husband or sons, because he was changed by his experience in jail. Hmm, is this a commentary saying that men will only be decent to women once they are punished for their behavoir?? Maybe I'm pulling too much out of this one! It's nto as funny for the American audience, I did not find more than maybe one moment as funny. The movie has some odd parts and it is incredible to think how Fernando would let her stay with him so long... It's worth seeing, but maybe just once.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice, light and enjoyable Italian romantic comedy
Review: Bread and Tulips is a nice romantic comedy set in Venice. The story of a middle-class Italian housewife from Abruzzi who- on a whim- goes to Venice for an unscheduled vacation. There she finds herself enjoying life for what may be the first time in years. The supporting cast is great, but the real star is Licia Maglietta who plays the housewife- Rosalba. Her portrayal is charming, comedic and on the mark. I can't imagine anyone not being enamored of her performance and likeability. Bread and Tulips is a nice, light Italian comedy.
Rating:
Summary: Transcending the Romantic Comedy Genre!
Review: Bread and Tulips is wonderful! The DVD cover says it was nominated for international awards and won at least 9 awards; it fully deserves them all!
Its simple tale has all the power and universal grandeur of a classical Greek myth or parable. Mainly set in present-day Venice (probably the world's most romantic city with a poignancy, poetry, and proximity to mythical power uniquely its own), it charts the emotional rebirth of a woman who, at movie's start, has become an awkward stranger to the vibrant beauty of her very own heart.
The lady's emotional healing slowly touches the lives of others in similar emotionally-bereft lives and, with a wonderful economy of psychological insight into the characters, everyone's everyday tragedies transform into meaningful uplifting relationships with a shared music and mutually-loving harmony.
Bread and Tulips is most easily defined as a romantic comedy; yet, it transcends most other modern movies of that genre insofar as it fully honors human emotions and never ridicules or devalues them. A wonderful and heartwarming emotional education of a movie with superb acting igniting it from start to finish; fully recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful performances make Bread and Tulips special.
Review: Bread and Tulips tells the story of a middle-aged Italian woman, Rosalba, beautifully played by Licia Magletta, who is left stranded at a tourist stop by her husband and son. Upset by their indifference to her, she decides to visit Venice before she goes home to a family that does not appreciate her anymore. Needing dinner after arriving at her pensione (bed and breakfast) she goes to a ...tratoria (family style restaurant) and meets Fernando, the waiter, played by the fine German actor, Bruno Ganz, whom some viewers may have seen in Wim Wenders wonderful films. Rosalba is short of cash and ends up staying with Fernando in his apartment. Rosalba senses the loneliness and sadness in Fernando, he has a noose to hang himself hidden under his bed, and she does her best to cheer him up and she does this by making his dingy apartment an attractive place to live. Rosalba soon finds work with an eccentric florist and decides to stay with Fernando. She is a warm, attractive woman who makes life better for everyone she meets. She seems in no hurry to go home to her family. Her husband decides to send a plumber, who has come looking for work, to Venice to find his wife. This subplot adds much humor to the story. Each of the characters has some unique quality which makes them memorable. Rosalba is so warm and friendly that everyone who meets her likes her and wants to help her. She may not be needed by her family, but she quickly becomes important to her small circle of friends in Venice. What makes this film special is first the performances, which are first-rate, Licia Maglietta as Rosalba is wonderful. She is just the sort of person we would like to know. She is warm, friendly, genuinely interested in others, and talented. All the supporting players are drawn to her and are better for knowing her. Bruno Ganz as Fernando is wearied by all the dashed hopes and disappointments of his life, which may have gotten the better of him had he not met Rosalba. He is the moon, dark and brooding, to Rosalba's sun. The story is well directed and well told. Enough quirky and unusual characters come on the scene to keep our interest high. Clearly the director wants to show us Italians as they really are, not so much descendants of the Romans as a pompous tour guide suggests, but silly and flawed like the rest of us. Rosalba, a seemingly ordinary housewife, is the best of the Italians and the best is plenty good enough.
Rating:
Summary: Loved this film.
Review: Filmed in the "real" Venice, this tale is a delightful blend of humor, music and charismatic cast - with a starring lead lady whose every move is exquisitely sensual. You will leave the theatre smiling with a song in your heart.
Rating:
Summary: A CHARMING ROMANTIC COMEDY - VIVA VENICE!
Review: Forget flurrying pigeons, St. Mark's, Florian's tables, all the standard fare usually delivered by films set in Venice. Silvio Soldini's deftly masterful "Bread and Tulips" is instead an ethereal Venezia, a triptych of shadows, echoes and lights that evoke a city of workers, narrow stone studded streets, mini bridges and interlocking canals. It is a place that Rosalba (Licia Maglietta) cannot resist. She is an under estimated, unappreciated middle-age housewife and mother of two teenage sons who is on a family vacation to the Adriatic coast. When Rosalba exits the ladies room during a rest stop she sees the back bumper of the tour bus as it trundles down the road without her. Her husband is Mimmo (Antonio Catania), a self-centered boor who dallies with his mistress and oversees a plumbing business in Pescara. She immediately contacts him by cell phone and is lambasted for being left behind. She agrees to wait there, but evidently ready for a vacation of her own choosing she makes her way to Venice. After her evening arrival she has dinner at a modest trattoria where she meets Fernando (Bruno Ganz), an Icelander, a despondent waiter who is prone to suicide attempts. (He keeps a noose handy). Ganz's artfully understated portrayal of Fernando is superb. When Rosalba allows that she is short on funds Fernando invites her to share his lodgings, where she is greeted each morning with a note from him as well as breakfast on a tray. Eventually, she finds work with an elderly florist and becomes friends with her neighbor, Grazia (Marina Massironi), a wide-eyed, other worldly masseuse. The emergence of Rosalba as a confident woman is a joy to watch as her eyes dance and features soften with radiant allure. When Mimmo's mistress refuses to iron his shirts, he hires Costantino (Giuseppe Battiston), an unemployed wanna be detective to track down his wife. Costantino's arrival in Venice provides some of the film's better comic moments as he searches for a hotel and Rosalba. When Costantino is able to trace Rosalba to her room, he meets Grazia and falls under her spell. Love's rocky path has more twists and turns when Costantino confesses why he really came to Venice. Apparently conscience stricken Rosalba returns to her nonchalant sons and indifferent husband. Fernando is left more mournful than ever with only a note and a bouquet of tulips. Or, is he? "Bread and Tulips" is a charming romantic comedy that leaves one sighing contentedly, hoping for a trip to Venice and maybe even breakfast on a tray.
Rating:
Summary: A CHARMING ROMANTIC COMEDY - VIVA VENICE!
Review: Forget flurrying pigeons, St. Mark's, Florian's tables, all the standard fare usually delivered by films set in Venice. Silvio Soldini's deftly masterful "Bread and Tulips" is instead an ethereal Venezia, a triptych of shadows, echoes and lights that evoke a city of workers, narrow stone studded streets, mini bridges and interlocking canals. It is a place that Rosalba (Licia Maglietta) cannot resist. She is an under estimated, unappreciated middle-age housewife and mother of two teenage sons who is on a family vacation to the Adriatic coast. When Rosalba exits the ladies room during a rest stop she sees the back bumper of the tour bus as it trundles down the road without her. Her husband is Mimmo (Antonio Catania), a self-centered boor who dallies with his mistress and oversees a plumbing business in Pescara. She immediately contacts him by cell phone and is lambasted for being left behind. She agrees to wait there, but evidently ready for a vacation of her own choosing she makes her way to Venice. After her evening arrival she has dinner at a modest trattoria where she meets Fernando (Bruno Ganz), an Icelander, a despondent waiter who is prone to suicide attempts. (He keeps a noose handy). Ganz's artfully understated portrayal of Fernando is superb. When Rosalba allows that she is short on funds Fernando invites her to share his lodgings, where she is greeted each morning with a note from him as well as breakfast on a tray. Eventually, she finds work with an elderly florist and becomes friends with her neighbor, Grazia (Marina Massironi), a wide-eyed, other worldly masseuse. The emergence of Rosalba as a confident woman is a joy to watch as her eyes dance and features soften with radiant allure. When Mimmo's mistress refuses to iron his shirts, he hires Costantino (Giuseppe Battiston), an unemployed wanna be detective to track down his wife. Costantino's arrival in Venice provides some of the film's better comic moments as he searches for a hotel and Rosalba. When Costantino is able to trace Rosalba to her room, he meets Grazia and falls under her spell. Love's rocky path has more twists and turns when Costantino confesses why he really came to Venice. Apparently conscience stricken Rosalba returns to her nonchalant sons and indifferent husband. Fernando is left more mournful than ever with only a note and a bouquet of tulips. Or, is he? "Bread and Tulips" is a charming romantic comedy that leaves one sighing contentedly, hoping for a trip to Venice and maybe even breakfast on a tray.
Rating:
Summary: A feel-good film
Review: Great acting. Beautiful scenery. A lovely script. Non-box office hit, but who needs those? This one is about reality and fantasy. Nicely done. Would watch again.
Rating:
Summary: Bread and Tulips
Review: I found this movie to be absolutely charming and left the theatre with a smile on my face. Licia Maglietta was marvelous as the 40-something lovely lady who decides to take the other fork in the road and starts a new life in Venice. Tired of being under-appreciated and verbally abused by her boorish husband and preoccupied sons, Rosalba (Licia) decides to live for herself for a change and then becomes the catalyst that magically causes others to change around her -- the suicidal landlord/restauranteer, the aging florest employer who is a former anarchist, the lady neighbor down and hall, and even the comical plumber/detective sent in pursuit by her husband. This film is funny, poignant, heart-warming, and charming. The entire cast is truly memorable; the small vignettes of Rosalba's dreams are somewhat jarring in their presentation - but once you become acclimated to their random arrival they add a bit of mystery to the film that is somewhat resolved at the end. This is a DVD that I will buy upon release for sure.
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