Il cielo cade (2000)

1943, an estate north of Firenze. The weight of the world is on the shoulders of Penny, who's about 10. An orphan, she must watch over her little sister when they go to live with her aunt ... See full summary »

Directors:

Andrea Frazzi, Antonio Frazzi

Writers:

Lorenza Mazzetti (novel), Suso Cecchi D'Amico (screenplay)

Stars:

Isabella Rossellini, Jeroen Krabbé, Barbara Enrichi

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Isabella Rossellini	...	Katchen
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Wilhelm
Barbara Enrichi	...	Rosa
Gianna Giachetti	...	Elsa
Luciano Virgilio	...	Arthur
Azzurra Antonacci	...	Maria
Bruno Vetti	...	Il parroco
Selene Maltauro
Mauro Marino	...	Cosimo
Bettina Giovannini	...	Signora Pinzauti
Veronica Niccolai	...	Penny
Lara Campoli	...	Baby
Elena Safonova	...	Maja (as Elena Sofonova)
Paul Brooke	...	Mr. Pitt
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cosimo Bani

Storyline

1943, an estate north of Firenze. The weight of the world is on the shoulders of Penny, who's about 10. An orphan, she must watch over her little sister when they go to live with her aunt and uncle. Penny's a Catholic, and worries about her uncle's soul. He's Jewish, progressive and a free thinker, a fair boss, and devoted to his family. He can be stern, so Penny also worries that she'll never please him and that he won't love her. Then, after the Allied forces land in Sicily and the Germans begin their retreat, Penny must worry about her uncle's life. She tries logic and appeals to human decency. Can a child keep the sky from falling?

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Plot Keywords:

german | love | orphan | sicily | catholic | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance | War

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian German English

Release Date:

26 May 2000 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Sky Is Falling

Filming Locations:

Bivigliano, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Istituto Luce, Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (MiBAC), Parus Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jeroen Krabbé's name is misspelled "Jeroun" in the opening credits (which pronounced in Italian probably sounds more like the way his name should be pronounced).

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Goofs

When Wilhelm is playing chess with the general, he performs a mate in 3 beginning with a rook sacrifice. However, on the last move he is seen to move his knight to the wrong square, giving only check instead of checkmate. There is a continuity error here, as in the next shot we see the knight on the correct square, delivering mate.

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Connections

Referenced in Settembre in Mugello e Val di Sieve (2009)

User Reviews

Wartime story of happiness and tragedy in wartime Tuscany

This film is a real treat. It depicts a loving, happy and slightly chaotic grand wartime household in Tuscany in 1944. The family is augmented by two orphaned children taken into care. Because life is seen from the child Penny's perspective, there are no really ugly scenes or characters, only the normal escapades and heartbreaks of a child growing up within the limited boundaries of house, school, forest and pool. That is, until the remnants of the retreating German army are billeted in the house, and fanatical eye of the SS officer uncovers the Jewish identity of the family. The shock of what follows is as searing as anything shown on screen, and confirms the terrible consequences of evil ideology.