Così ridevano (1998)

Turin at the end of the fifties: two brothers have emigrated there from Sicily and the older works very hard to let the younger study and free himself from poverty through culture. The boy ... See full summary »

Director:

Gianni Amelio

Writers:

Gianni Amelio, Daniele Gaglianone,

Stars:

Francesco Giuffrida, Enrico Lo Verso, Rosaria Danzè

5 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Francesco Giuffrida	...	Pietro
Enrico Lo Verso	...	Giovanni
Rosaria Danzè	...	Lucia
Fabrizio Gifuni	...	Pelaia
Claudio Contartese	...	Rosario
Domenico Ragusa	...	Simone
Simonetta Benozzo	...	Ada
Pietro Paglietti	...	Battista
Corrado Borsa	...	Teacher at Examination
Barbara Braga	...	Girl at Bar
Calogero Caruana	...	Giovanni's Friend
Edoardo Ciciriello	...	School Assistant from Naples
Valerio Contartese	...	Unemployed Boy from Calabria
Iolanda Donnini	...	Mrs. Verusio
Erika Doria	...	Alessandra

Storyline

Turin at the end of the fifties: two brothers have emigrated there from Sicily and the older works very hard to let the younger study and free himself from poverty through culture. The boy however is not keen on school and would like to begin to work. When after some time he gets his degree however things take a violent and dramatic turn......

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Plot Keywords:

turin | sicily | violence | immigrant | emigration | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

2 October 1998 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Way We Laughed

Filming Locations:

Turin, Piedmont, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$10,210 (USA) (23 November 2001)

Gross:

$44,286 (USA) (22 March 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica, Pacific Pictures, Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (MiBAC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Despite winning the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, Gianni Amelio still had to wait over three years before he saw his film released in the US.

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Quotes

Giovanni: You think your children are your own, then they learn to walk and they leave you. Know what they say back home? "Raise hogs, 'cause then you can eat them"

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Connections

References Rocco and His Brothers (1960)

User Reviews

the way families are

The Way We Laughed works best as a study of familial obligation. The assumptions that "Blood" result in, the mendacity that can occur only within the structure of brotherly (sisterly/fatherly, etc.) expectation, and the assumption (or non-assumption) of responsibilities that either lie in the character, or despite the character. There's some good stuff about class urban/mainland prejudice included in the film, and some comments about the nature of intelligence. All told via a narrative structure that I find particularly pleasing. By skipping from year to year, we see growth and change, but there's a certain amount of work that we need to do to fill in the intervening spaces. This film makes that work worth it, although near the end I found myself wondering how long it would go on.