Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Film!
Review: My wife & I had heard what a good movie "Bread & Tulips" was and missed it at the theater, so we decided to wait until it was out on video and rent it. The wait was well worth it, as this film is an absolute delight!
By the mid-point of the film, you completely empathize with the lead charcater, Rosalba, first after she is left behind on a bus trip, and everything she has to endure from her dependent family; especially her hotheadedly jealous and cheating husband, who views Rosalba as nothing more than a housemaid expected to cook, clean and do laundry.
With wonderful performances by the entire cast, as well as breathtaking scenes on location in Venice, "Bread & Tulips" is a fantastic movie that you will watch again & again!
Rating: 
Summary: bread and tulips
Review: naturally, understanding italian makes this film all the more enjoyable. Nonetheless, the flavor of the film comes through even with subtitles. The characters are endearing, believable,(perhaps a bit caracaturish), and the pace is soothing. some nice shots of venice, and to boot, a happy ending.
Rating:
Summary: Charming...
Review: Rosalba Barletta, a housewife in her fourties, is left in a bus station "by accident" by the rest of her family while doing a tour, so she decides to give a shot to making some of her dreams come true: she hitchhikes to Venice, finds a job, and tries to start a new life. But her dreams of her family and the fear of loosing one of her sons to drugs don't let her be at ease. There's more to the story, but I don't want to spoil it for you...Let's face it. This isn't the deepest movie you can check out these days, but it has a charm only equaled by movies such as Central Station or Guantanamera, and it carries a subtle message around the fact that she had enough courage to pursue her dreams, something that we could all learn from. The cinematography and music: impeccable. Overall it deserves four stars: no more, no less.
Rating: 
Summary: 3 1/2 stars for Shirley Valentine Venetian-Style
Review: Silvio Soldini's "Bread and Tulips" shares many of the concerns of the English movie and play "Shirley Valentine." In both films an unappreciated housewife "flys the coop" and ventures out to find a new life for herself. In this case Rosalba Barletti (Licia Maglietta) is on tour with family and friends in Greece and is left stranded in a roadside gas station because no one notices that she is missing when the tour proceeds forward. And her husband and two teenage sons are on tour with her! Pretty sad stuff. But the mood of this film is not to dwell on the negative but on the positive of this situation and soon Rosalba is off to Venice to start a new life and to pursue those things she feels is missing from hers: adventure, romance and appreciation. On the home front her husband, Mimmo (Antonio Catania) rants and raves like he lost his wallet instead of his wife and his two sons merely shrug the whole situation off. At this point, because we have come to care about her (and this is the cinema magic of the screenwriter and director), we are rooting for Rosalba to go for it and she does. She finds a job in a flower shop (hence the tulips), finds lodging with a strange waiter named Fernando (Bruno Ganz) and makes friends with a neighbor, Grazia who does holistic massage (!). All of this is done in high style with little notice to rhyme or reason but this is acceptable in this type of film. (I think it is interesting to note that we here in the US get to see very few Italian movies of late with "Malena" being the exception. Why is that?) This film is resolved in fairy-tale style with everyone literally living "happily ever after." "Bread and Tulips" is fun and satisfying if you don't try to make too much of it. Go with a pal, sneak in some Asti-Spumanti,some prosciutto and bread and have a good time with Rosalba and company.
Rating:
Summary: venice, city for lovers
Review: the cinema is superb. i recently visited the magnificently unique city of venice and this film does the city justice. the story line is most enjoyable and the comedy is top rate. i wholeheartedly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Housewife escapes having to scrape the lasagna pan
Review: The plot of BREAD AND TULIPS is a familiar one. A forty-something housewife, dulled by her day-to-day domestic obligations, takes time out for herself away from husband and offspring, during which she rekindles a zest for life and unexpectedly discovers a new passion. The same theme runs through another film of a few years back, BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. In BREAD AND TULIPS, it's the end of the family vacation, and Rosalba (Licia Maglietta) finds herself mistakenly left marooned at a roadside food-petrol-souvenir tourist trap by the bus disappearing down the road with the hubby and teenage kids. Meaning to hitchhike back home, Rosalba chooses to be diverted to Venice, a city she's always dreamed of visiting. Once there, she extends her stay by finding lodging and a job, but her postcards home do not give specific details. Her husband, Mimmo (Antonio Catania), is incensed. However, his anger seems less fueled by his wife's absence per se than the fact that his mistress won't iron his shirts in the meantime. ("I'm your mistress, not your wife!") This Italian production is filled with attractive and quirky characters. Rosalba herself is beautiful and sexy in a mature sort of way. (She might not appeal to the young bucks, but she looks pretty good to these 50+ year old eyes!). Then there's Fernando, the world weary, suicidal waiter who invites her to take over a vacant room in his apartment. Fermo the florist is the ancient anarchist who gives her a job in his flower shop. Grazia, Rosalba's new friend down the hall from Fernando's flat, is an unlucky-at-love "holistic beautician and masseuse". Best of all in a supporting role is Giuseppe Battiston as Costantino, the fat plumber hired by Mimmo to go to Venice and track down the errant spouse. Though Costantino's only qualification for the quest is the large number of detective stories he's read, he's certainly game, inspired probably by a desperate desire to get away from his over-protective mother. The movie was filmed largely in Venice. Refreshingly, the director chose as his stage many parts of the city far off the beaten tourist track, as well as more recognizable landmarks. I liked BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY much more because the acting was better, the emotions rawer, and the dilemma faced by Meryl Streep more immediate. However, because BREAD AND TULIPS has a sunnier ending, perhaps it's a better choice for a light-hearted afternoon at the flicks. Bravissimo!
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and Touching (4.6 on a scale of 1 to 5)
Review: The story of "Bread and Tulips" has been told before in the movies and will be told again. A bored, underappreciated housewife escapes her life and finds true love away from the hearth and home. But the movie tells it very well and the actors make you believe in the possibility of life beginning anew. Licia Maglietta plays an Italian wife on holiday with her husband and two boys. When she misses the bus from the petrol stop, her husband gets on the mobile and yells at her. She decides to hitchhike to catch up to them...and then on a whim ends up hitchiking to Venice, where she has never been. And her life begins...in short order, she ends up with a room in the apartment of a kindly waiter with a sad history (he's suicidal when we first meet him), a job with a florist/anarchist, a friend in the form of her neighbor "a holistic masseuse." She blossoms into a beauty throughout the movie as her many gifts (kindness, wit, love) are recognized by those around her. Meanwhile her family misses her working for them-her husband finds out that his mistress is unwilling to iron his shirts-and wants her back. Her husband, too cheap to hire a real detective, insteads sends a prospective employee (a plumber by training) to find her. This portly character, who has read about 200 too many detective novels, injects tremendous humor into the movie.
The movie has many small charms. Though it is shot in Venice, the director only shows typical "beauty" shots in passing. The beauty of the city to the heroine occurs in the small shops and apartments of her newfound life. The acting, particularly of Maglietta, is profound and touching. I would recommend this movie to those who like romances and foreign, art house films. A warning: it is both the ultimate chick flick and in Italian (with English subtitles). That alone may turn off a number of filmgoers. But if you're taste runs to this genre, well then you're in for a treat.
Rating:
Summary: A Warm Perspective on Life
Review: This film is a journey of discovery and self-awareness, a story about life and love and finding the true happiness that comes from sharing it all "with" someone, rather than merely settling for sharing "in" someone else's. Mostly, though, "Bread and Tulips," directed by Silvio Soldini, is about finding the kind of love that enfolds you, lifts you up and boldly takes you with it, in place of the kind that simply allows you to catch hold and follow along. It's about possibilities; of realizing the fulfillment of the promise instead of forever existing in the shadow of the potential, of recognizing what can be and embracing it once it's found-- a consideration that love in the purest sense does exist, and often in the least likely of places. It's just a matter of opening the heart, and finding it. Rosalba Barletta (Licia Maglietta) is content with her life, or so it would seem; she's a housewife with two sons-- aged sixteen and eighteen-- and a husband, Mimmo (Antonio Catania), who sells bathroom fixtures. Her contentment, though, is perhaps due to the fact that she's never considered the possibility of anything being otherwise. But that changes when, while on vacation with the family, she is inadvertently left behind at a stop. She watches the tour bus pull away and suddenly realizes that her husband and boys haven't even missed her. She decides to hitchhike home, but on the way, she decides to take a vacation of her own first. One of her rides is headed to Venice, a city to which she has never been but always wanted to go, and so she makes that her destination. And her vacation soon becomes more than that; it becomes an experience that opens up a whole new perspective on life to her, an adventure that reawakens her senses and fills her with an appreciation of life and what love really is. There is bad with the good, however, as it also makes her a woman torn between her old life with the family she loves but who take her for granted, and a new life, in which real love and personal fulfillment is possible. Whatever she decides, one thing is certain: This is one vacation Rosalba is never going to forget. Director Soldini has crafted and delivered an engaging and thoroughly involving and thoughtful film that grabs hold of the viewer and sweeps you along with it. It's funny, romantic and poignant, with a pure joy for life at it's heart; a romantic film in every sense of the word. Soldini tells Rosalba's story in a way that makes you more than a mere observer, but one who is sharing her life and all that she is feeling. Rosalba is someone you care about, and it's because Soldini has taken great care in attempting to establish that necessary connection between his character and the audience-- and he succeeds. He sets a perfect pace, in that Rosalba's growth and awareness is gradual, the product of subtle exploration rather than epiphany, which makes all that transpires entirely credible. And in the same way, it serves the credibility of the other characters, as well. It's a very grounded presentation that gives the sense of everything happening in real time; Soldini never allows the story to get ahead of itself, and that's part of the bond he's created that allows the audience to keep living it rather than just watching. The insightful screenplay by Soldini and Doriana Leondeff makes for an engaging film to begin with, but without question, what really sells it is the wonderful performance by Licia Maglietta as Rosalba. Honest and earthy, her portrayal is entirely convincing and believable; she opens up her character and lets you in, where you discover an inner beauty that is vibrant and endearing. And you realize how much Rosalba has to give, and how much she wants to give-- and it's a touching experience; this is a woman who receives by giving, and it's gratifying to encounter that kind of charity of soul, and moreover, to see it rewarded in kind. Most importantly, Maglietta's performance inspires a greater understanding of the human condition; by experiencing the rewards of discovering who Rosalba really is, one may be inclined thereafter to look deeper into others, to reflect upon the nature of those perhaps taken for granted for too long. And the fact that such an impact can be made through a character in a film attests to the talent and ability of Maglietta, who-- something of a cross between Sophia Loren and Giulietta Masina-- has an absorbing screen presence, and plays Rosalba so beautifully. Bruno Ganz also gives a memorable performance as Fernando Girasoli, the man who befriends Rosalba in Venice. His portrayal is so subtle and understated, and so giving, in that he allows the focus to remain on Rosalba at all times, that the full impact of his character kind of sneaks up on you. The initial meeting between Rosalba and Fernando is so indifferent that he at first appears to be nothing more than a peripheral character in the drama. And it demonstrates how wonderfully Soldini and his actors have integrated the characters with the story to make it play out in such real terms. It's an affecting performance by Ganz, who sparks an unlikely chemistry with Maglietta that works so well on the screen. Also turning in performances worthy of mention are Marina Massironi, as Rosalba's friend, Grazia, the holistic beautician/masseuse; and Giuseppe Battiston, as Costantino, the hapless plumber/detective. The supporting cast includes Felice Andreasi (Fermo), Tiziano Cucchiarelli (Nic), Matteo Febo (Salvo), Tatiana Lepore (Adele) and Vitalba Andrea (Ketty). Highly entertaining and thoroughly involving on a very personal level, "Bread and Tulips" is a film that provides an unforgettable emotional experience; one that promotes a deeper understanding of human nature by allowing you to get outside of yourself, which ultimately affords a fresh perspective on life and the way we live it.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful movie!
Review: This is a beautiful movie. I just love it. I first saw it at the COPIA - The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa Valley, CA. After that viewing I ran out and bought the DVD. It is one of the most often viewed DVDs in my collection.
Rating:
Summary: The History of Mrs Polly
Review: This is a charming and beautifully produced little romantic-comedy melodrama, with a bitter sweet taste. It is a simple tale , a kind of Italian version of H. G. Wells', The History of Mr. Polly, except the Italian Signora "Polly" (so to speak) finds her happiness among the picturesque slums of outer Venice and turns her back on the comfortable horrors of suburbanite Rome and its hyper markets. The little tale also has its "For want of a horseshoe nail the battle was lost "theme. The heroine's escape would simply not have happened but for her trying to fish a fallen earring out of a bus rest stop toilet bowl on the way back to Rome from a family holiday in the Greco-Italian south. Unbelievably the bus, plus husband and kids, leaves without her. It would spoil the story to tell you the rest. This is a very visual movie where you have to watch all the details very carefully (rather than to pay much attention to the dialogue). I first watched the DVD without the sub-titles, although my knowledge of Italian is minimal and yet I was able to follow the story without much difficulty. The photography focuses less on the overall grand beauty of the tourist's Venice but more on the still life details that a Renaissance artist wood have appreciated, for example the half a loaf of country bread on the kitchen table, a broken ornament, a baroque street light or the petals slowly falling off the cut tulips in a vase as the suicidal Icelander sits drinking his Chartreuse in despair. The movie deservedly won nine Italian academy awards for 2000, plus five silver ribbon of Italian Film Critics as well as several Golden Globe awards
|
