Rating: 
Summary: Amazing film....
Review: If you were unexpectedly swept away by Zeff's Romeo & Juliet when they forced you to watch it in high school english class (or have had any connection with any of his other films along the way), then this film will seem to fill in pieces of why, where, how that perspective come out of this particular human being. While it is only semi-autobiographical, it is a stunning look at coming of age with eyes that land behind a camera trying to share a single view with the many heads and eyes of the wide movie audiences of the world. The ensemble cast is the effortless mixed fabric of a multi-layered world. The locations are stunningly filmed. And the vulnerable emotions shared should move anyone with even a quarter of a beating human heart. If you are with a "man" like the reviewer previous to moi, one who finds it "boring" and made for "women", then you are with a *person* who may not be ready for open communications where an individual risks expression with others. But I have personally seen the film with several other men and women who were emotionally available in general, and we all adored this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: The movie is frankly boring, at least for the male members of the race(most women seem to feel differently). I think it was the longest 2-hour movie I have ever watched. The storyline is slow, and boring. A must not see.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly Fabulous
Review: I first caught this on the television. Thinking that this was an amazing story, and very life-like. Little did I know that it was actually based on true events. I'm not the type that sees a movie and usually decides to purchase it-- as I'm very careful with what I actually add to the collection. As soon as this movie was over, I rushed to the computer to see if it was available on DVD (or video for that matter) and I was so excited to know that it was. I highly recomend this movie to anyone, who has a taste for a truly good script, cinematography, and a performance by such a well-known and talented cast.
Rating: 
Summary: Elegant, autobiographical WWII drama
Review: Tea With Mussolini is director Franco Zefferilli's partly autobiographical account of the experiences of a boy named Luca in Fascist Italy. The story begins just before German declares war on Poland in 1939 and ends with the liberation of Italy by the Allied Forces in 1944. During the Second World War, Italy's dictator, Mussolini, was allied with Hitler's Nazi Germany. England and France declared war on both counties in 1939, and by late 1941, America had done the same. Prior to the war, there were numerous British and American expatriates who lived permanently abroad. Many of these lived in small colonies in Italy. Not political by nature, many of these people paid scant attention to the growing threat of war. As a result, they went from privileged people with very pleasant lives to prisoners of war. It is in this unstable and dangerous situation that we find young Luca. He is the illegitimate son of an Italian clothing merchant and a dress maker. When his mother dies, Luca put is in a school. His father is too concerned about his marriage and his social position to have much concern. His nominal guardian is the middle-aged Mary [Joan Plowright], an English employee of his father's. As Luca's situation continues to deteriorate, Mary finds herself more or less stuck with the child. She loves him, but she's a spinster and feels unable to cope with the task. She turns to some of her female British friends, and they all set out to raise him. When the war breaks out, this becomes an almost insurmountable problem when the ladies lose all rights and freedoms. There are those who have found the plot to be both improbably and somewhat maudlin. I don't disagree entirely, but I find that Tea With Mussolini's assets far outweigh these issues. Cher, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith and Lili Tomlin are all successful, talented and seasoned actresses. Between them, they have four Oscar wins, seven nominations, and 187 film roles. To see these women together in the same movie is, to me, well worth the price of admission. They are as good at comedy as they are at drama, and they bring to the film a sense of humor that offsets what might have been a rather dark tale. All can take the most mundane line and give it life. Each can say volumes with a simple glance. Cher is especially good as an American heiress, although this is a painful reminder that she hasn't done much with her film career since Moonstruck in 1987. The other ladies have been continuously active. The film's other marvel is David Watkin's extraordinary photography. We often go to a movie and note the visual impact of two or three scenes - Jim Carey's saying good morning to the camera in The Truman Show, young Forrest Gump's leg braces falling away as he runs from the bullies, the Normandy Invasion in Saving Private Ryan, etc. But Watkins gives us scores of memorable shots. He makes Tea With Mussolini almost too beautiful, if that is possible. He has more than a creative talent with cameras. He has utter confidence and authority. I would gladly see the movie again simply for these visual delights. Expect to see his name at the Oscars. He's won before. This film excels as an aesthetic achievement. It has neither sex nor violence nor, to a degree, a spellbinding plot. What it has is elegance, something which was once fairly common in movies, but which is now a sort of an endangered species.
Rating:
Summary: Charming entertainment but not much depth
Review: Based loosely on the autobiography of the director, Franco Zeffinelli, this film is a light frothy comedy about a serious subject. It is the story of Italy in the 1930s and Mussolini's rise to power. It is also the story of the young illegitimate son of a textile merchant who gets adopted by a group of eccentric aging Englishwomen living in Florence. The delightful cast includes English Maggie Smith as a dowager grande dame who looks down her nose with disdain at everything around her, Judy Dentch as an dotty art lover, Joan Plowright as a sensible motherly type and Lily Tomlin as an a forthright lesbian. Surrounded by the art and grandeur of Florence, these ladies love Italy and refuse to believe that their lives will change under the darkening clouds of fascism. Into this mix comes Cher as the rich American ex-chorus girl who marries rich men wears beautiful outfits. I recommend this video for what it is -- a couple of hours of light and charming entertainment. Florence is beautiful, the costumes are great, the acting is good, and the war is sanitized. However, if you are looking for depth and complexity, you won't find it here.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie, But The Tape Is Cut From The ScreenPlay
Review: I'd give it 5 stars, except for the fact that some scenes were cut from the home release. In the theaters, there is more development of Cher's romance with the "bad" guy, and more time is given to the boy before he is sent to Austria. Some of the characters were "rounded out" a little more in the theater, also. I missed those scenes immediately upon viewing the VHS version.
Rating:
Summary: Tea With Mussolini
Review: For all the hype and name cast, I found this to be an awful movie. The acting, especially that of Cher and Dench, was amateurish and, I would think, an embarrassment to the participants. The predictable story line had no depth and nuance. I could barely watch it through...only the prospect of seeing how much worse it could get held my attention. In that respect, it did not disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: Franco Zeffirelli's Own "Artist Becoming A Young Man"
Review: I've always enjoyed Franco Zeffirelli's films and opera productions and this film is no exception. This semi-autobiographical coming of age story fits so well among the usual coming of age stories of people in the arts. So many of these people have grown up with a close mothering or woman-based support system. That the child-teen here is not legitimate and has a whole clan of English and American women to raise him in Fascist-filled 1930s' and 1940s' Italy, makes him virtually predestined for a career in the arts. These women are even willing to risk their lives to preserve Italian frescoes, which only an artist would bother to recount. The ensemble cast of women is superb. Maggie Smith has the English elitist down perfectly by this point in her career and she can be quietly hilarious playing it, especially in her misguided belief that "Il Duce" is protecting her in Italy. Cher returns to the screen in a wonderfully luminous role as a wealthy American entertainer, who is also Jewish and about to be sold to out to the Germans by her Italian boyfriend. John Mortimer co-scripted the film with Zeffirelli. Mortimer created the fictional "Rumpole of the Bailey" so he is well able to flesh out all of these eccentric English characters. It is also quite common for artists to return to childhood-adolesence when evaluating where their germination in the arts began. Both Fellini and Bergmann returned to their childhoods too in semi-autobiographical form in several of their films.
Rating:
Summary: A first-rate production
Review: Adapted from Zefferelli's autobiography, the script takes us back to WW-2 Italy (Florence, San Gimignano) where young orphan, "Luca" is adopted by an eccentric group of English women. His personal development,the relationship among the women and the suspense surrounding his Jewish-American benefactress are told with interesting detail, humor and poignancy by John Mortimer of "Rumpole"fame. The cinematography and score are lush and romantic and carry you immediately into the time and spirit of the story. Even non Cher fans will be impressed by her looks and performance. Three British national treasures give their usual flawless performances, although JUDI DENCH fans will be disappointed by her relatively small role. A good deal of footage was edited out which, in all fairness, probably made for a more flowing story line, but that is why this Dench fan gave the film only 4 stars. The incredibly versatile JOAN PLOWRIGHT displays wit, wisdom and a tenderness that will make you weep. OSCAR MISSED THE BOAT on this one.
Rating:
Summary: It's more than tea with trumpets with Mussolini!
Review: Grand, eloquent, exotic, touching! Good descriptives for the Franco Zeffirelli film "Tea with Mussolini"! Considered autobiographical of Zeffirelli himself, this film soars--and one can readily see Franco's cinematic touches--not only with the all-star cast (a trite expression but nonetheless apt) but with the storyline itself. Set just shortly before World War II in Florence, the movie showcases a group of proper British ladies (where else would they be but in Italy?) who seem perfectly at peace here. They have undertaken the care of a young outcast boy and set about to teach him proper British ways. They interact as if there were no cares. After all, they have the personal world of Il Duce that no harm will come to them should the war descend. And descend it does and only the naive (Maggie Smith) could believe in the integrity of Mussolini! These expatriate Brits choose to stay in Italy and, of course, the worst case scenario transpires. They are caught in the crossfires of the war machine. The other ladies in the film include Cher, Joan Plowright, Judi Dench, and Lily Tomlin. Cher scores one of her best roles as the lone American in the film, a friend of the British ladies, and as the war continues, even her money and influence are no longer enough to save her. Her Jewish background does not settle well with the Fascists there, who are more than eager to please Herr Hitler and his war machine. Zeffirelli fills his film with typical cinematic beauty--whether it be in the actors, the acting, the scenery, the score, it's all superb. His ability to fuse the drama with appropriate amounts of comic relieve also add to the film, and his reputation. Hats off to the entire movie company! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)
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