Non ci resta che piangere (1985)

Directors:

Roberto Benigni
Massimo Troisi

Writers:

Roberto Benigni (screenplay)
Roberto Benigni (story)

Release Date:

15 January 1985 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A teacher (Saverio) and a schoolkeeper (Mario) get lost in the Italian countryside. They find themselves in the late 15th century...

Plot Keywords:

Leonardo Da Vinci | Middle Age | Time Travel | Train | Florence Italy

Cast

Massimo Troisi	...	Mario
Roberto Benigni	...	Saverio
Iris Peynado	...	Astriaha
Amanda Sandrelli	...	Pia
Carlo Monni	...	Vitellozzo
Livia Venturini	...	Parisina
Elisabetta Pozzi	...	Locandiera
Jole Silvani
Loris Bazzocchi
Nicola Morelli
Mario Diano
Peter Boom
Fiorenzo Serra
Stefano Gragnani
Galliano Mariani

Also Known As:

Nothing Left to Do But Cry

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Italy:T

Filming Locations:

Capranica, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Best International

Quotes:

Mario: [moaning] Saverio...
[mumbles]
Saverio: I don't understand!
Mario: [moaning] Saverio...
Saverio: Yes! OK! I'M Saverio!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Bellissimo: Immagini del cinema italiano (1985)

Soundtrack:

Yesterday

Amazingly fresh - unrepeatable

Totally unawares, Saverio, a teacher and Mario, a janitor of the same school in which they both work, travel back in time and find themselves in central Italy at the end of the 15th century. They carry with them an unresolved squabble concerning Saverio's sister, creating a lot of tension between the two, which will increase in the plot. From this moment on they will have to come to grips with the grotesque situation they find themselves in, trying to "hitch a lift" back to the future in a most outlandish way, using and misusing their foresight of the events taking place round that time, and generally making fools of themselves in the eyes of "normal" renaissance folks. Their meeting with Leonardo da Vinci is hysterical, when they become more and more convinced that the genius is in reality a moron. Another character they meet is Savonarola the heretic, who enjoins them to repent, before he is taken to the stake, eliciting some breezy comment from them. If it weren't for a weird kind of homesickness, they would quite enjoy living in this period, full of daring fashions and tantalising damsels.

The couple shows great chemistry and is funny in every respect. The psychology of their characters is complex and credible - for once comical roles with a depth. Basically, Saverio is an embittered petit-bourgeois forever attracted and rejected by women, envious of Mario, an easy-going proletarian every woman falls in love with. Saverio is scheming, mean and vindictive as much as Mario is naive, generous and forgiving. What a match of talents: Roberto Benigni and Massimo Troisi at the peak of combined creativity. Too bad they will never come back together for another joint venture. Or maybe it is better this way: masterpieces of this level cannot be improved on, at best they can be imitated. For this reason Non ci resta che piangere will shine like a gem in the crown of the best Italian movies of all times. Sadly not many people seem to have seen it, not even in Italy, where the viewers do not need subtitles to enjoy the hilarious juggling of the two actors with the language, but their body language can be universally appreciated.

If you miss it you will have to repent!