Sunflower (1970)
"I girasoli" (original title)

An Italian woman conducts a desperate search for her husband, a soldier considered missing in action in Russia - like fifty thousand others during WWII.

Director:

Vittorio De Sica

Writers:

Tonino Guerra (story), Cesare Zavattini (story),

Stars:

Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Lyudmila Saveleva

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sophia Loren	...	Giovanna
Marcello Mastroianni	...	Antonio
Lyudmila Saveleva	...	Mascia (as Ljudmila Saveljeva)
Galina Andreyeva	...	Valentina, Soviet official (as Galina Andreeva)
Anna Carena	...	Madre Antonio
Nadya Serednichenko	...	Contadina russa (as Nadja Cerednicenko)
Germano Longo	...	Ettore
Glauco Onorato	...	Il reduce
Silvano Tranquilli	...	L'operaio italiano
Marisa Traversi	...	Donna stazione
Gunars Cilinskis	...	Funzionario russo (as Gunnar Zilinskij)
Giorgio Basso
Gianni Bortolotti
Umberto Di Grazia
Giuliano Girardi

Storyline

At the end of World War II, Giovanna, a war bride living near Milan refuses to accept that her husband, Antonio, missing on the Russian front, is dead. There's a flashback to their brief courtship near her hometown of Naples, his 12-day leave to marry her, ruses to keep from deployment, and the ultimate farewell. Some years after the war, still with no word from Antonio, Giovanna goes to Russia to find him, starting in the town near the winter battle when he disappeared. Armed with his photograph, what will she find?

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Plot Keywords:

russian front | soldier | flashback | sunflower field | stadium | 

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Taglines:

In a world gone made...a love story.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian English Russian

Release Date:

24 September 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sunflower

Filming Locations:

Bereguardo, Pavia, Lombardia, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

AVCO Embassy Pictures, Compagnia Cinematografica Champion, Les Films Concordia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 98 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the 'Bloomsbury Foreign Film Guide', this was the first Italian film to be filmed mostly in Russia.

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Goofs

Mascia tells Giovanna that when she found Antonio, he was hurt so badly that he had forgotten everything, including his own name. If that's true, then how did Mascia know his name was Antonio?

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Connections

Referenced in Lost Embrace (2004)

User Reviews

Love, Hope, Truth and Renounce

In Naples, in World War II, the local Giovanna (Sophia Loren) has a torrid love affair with the soldier Antonio (Marcello Mastroianni), who is ready to embark to Africa. Giovanna proposes him to get married with her to get a leave of twelve days; then Antonio pretends that he is insane and he is sent to an asylum. However, the doctors discover the farce and they give the option to Antonio to go to the Russian front as volunteer instead of being sued. When Antonio is missing in action in Russia, Giovanna does not accept that he is dead. Years after the end of the war, Giovanna travels to Russia with a picture of Antonio to seek him out in the countryside. When she finds a lead in a village, her hope becomes disappointment with truth about his disappearance.

"I Girasoli" is one of the most famous romances of cinema and discloses a beautiful story of love, hope, truth and renounce. Vittorio De Sica explores the chemistry between Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni to the best, supported by a magnificent cinematography and the wonderful soundtrack of Henry Mancini, which certainly is among the most beautiful ones of the cinema history. The screenplay uses much ellipsis, and my remarks are the lack of dates, leaving the viewer without any reference of how many years have passed; further, the dialogs in Russian that are not translated. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Os Girassóis da Rússia" ("The Russia's Sunflowers")