Mambo italiano (2003)

Director:

Émile Gaudreault

Writers:

Émile Gaudreault (screenplay)
Steve Galluccio (play)
(more)

Release Date:

9 October 2003 (Slovenia)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Things change. Family doesn't.

Plot:

The son of Italian immigrants to Canada struggles to find the best way to reveal to his parents that he's gay.

Plot Keywords:

Gay | Italian | Immigrant | Canada | Moving Out

Awards:

11 nominations

Cast

Luke Kirby	...	Angelo Barberini
Ginette Reno	...	Maria Barberini
Paul Sorvino	...	Gino Barberini
Mary Walsh	...	Lina Paventi
Peter Miller	...	Nino Paventi
Claudia Ferri	...	Anna Barberini
Sophie Lorain	...	Pina Lunetti
Tim Post	...	Peter
Tara Nicodemo	...	Yolanda / Woman in Airplane / Jolene
Pierrette Robitaille	...	Rosetta
Dino Tavarone	...	Giorgio
Mark Camacho	...	Johnny Christofaro
Michel Perron	...	Father Carmignani
Lou Vani	...	Marco
Diane Lavallée	...	Mélanie
Ellen David	...	Alicia (gay-line)
Shaun Balbar	...	Raymond (gay-line)
Matt Holland	...	Steve (gay line)
Grace Bush-Vineberg	...	Young Anna (as Grace Bush Vineberg)
Matthew Gagnon	...	Gay Teen
Lisa Bronwyn Moore	...	Desperate Woman (as Lisa Bronwyn-Moore)
Michael Romano	...	Young Angelo
Stephanie Vecchio	...	Young Maria
Stephan Perreault	...	Young Gino
Mathieu Major-Langevin	...	Young Nino
Richard Jutras	...	Italian Psychiatrist #1
Giovanna Currabba	...	Italian Psychiatrist #2
Silvio Orvieto	...	Italian Psychiatrist #3
Pierre LeBlanc	...	Italian Psychiatrist #4
France Arbour	...	Italian Psychiatrist #5
Penny Mancuso	...	Angelo's Boss / Rosetta's Voice
Gino Riccardo Arcaro	...	Massimo
Paola Pagnotta	...	Massimo's Mother
Marcello Pagnotta	...	Massimo's Father
Paul Hopkins	...	Hunky Pilot
Gordon McCall	...	Inebriated Man
Ivana Bombardieri	...	TV Interviewer
Steve Galluccio	...	TV Angelo
Lidia Russon	...	TV Maria
Franco Montesano	...	TV Gino
Leni Parker	...	TV Anna
Suzanna Lenir	...	Southern Belle
Tony Tortorici	...	Pina's Father
Michael Daniel Murphy	...	Anna's Date
Jessica De Marco	...	Italian Woman (as Jessica Di Marco)
Victoria Sanchez	...	Beautiful Woman
Julie Tamiko Manning	...	Woman (help line)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stéphane Archambault	...	Cute Man
Giovanna Carrubba	...	Italian Psychiatrist #2
Frank Ferruccio	...	Waiter
Rodney Lloyd Anthony Kellman
Fanny Labbe	...	Hotline operator
Jerry Sprio	...	Yolanda's Husband
Claudia Tiseo	...	Italian Woman #1
Alan West	...	Boy with frisbee
James Berlingieri	...	Fabio (uncredited)
Johnny Griffin	...	Burglar (uncredited)
Gordon Masten	...	Beer-Bellied Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Émile Gaudreault

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Steve Galluccio		play
Steve Galluccio		screenplay
Émile Gaudreault		screenplay

Produced by
Daniel Louis	....	producer
Denise Robert	....	producer

Original Music by
FM Le Sieur

Cinematography by
Serge Ladouceur

Film Editing by
Richard Comeau

Casting by
Lucie Robitaille

Production Design by
Patricia Christie

Costume Design by
Francesca Chamberland

Makeup Department
Christiane Fattori	....	key makeup artist (key makeup artist)
Emilie Gauthier	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Francis Choquette	....	unit manager
Hélène Grimard	....	production manager (as Hélène Gallizzi)
George Jardon	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fabrice Barrilliet	....	third assistant director
Simon Dugas	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Steve Louis	....	graphic designer

Sound Department
Jocelyn Caron	....	adr foley recordist
Denys Dufresne	....	mixing assistant
Gavin Fernandes	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gavin Fernandes	....	sound
Marie-Claude Gagné	....	sound editor
Marie-Claude Gagné	....	sound
Claude La Haye	....	sound
Philippe Pelletier	....	sound re-recording mixer
Louis Piche	....	boom operator
Bruno Ruffolo	....	adr recordist
Steve F.B. Smith	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby

Special Effects by
Guillaume Murray	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Patrick Faille	....	digital artist
Mario Rachiele	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Martin Williams	....	stunt rigger

Camera and Electrical Department
Patrice Houx	....	gaffer
Jan Mark Lapointe	....	key grip
Alfonso Maiorana	....	additional camera operator
Eric Morin	....	first assistant camera: a
Geoffroy St-Hilaire	....	steadicam operator

Casting Department
Mike Migliara	....	extras casting
Bruno Rosato	....	extras casting

Editorial Department
Marie-Hélène Bourget	....	assistant on-line editor
Marc Lussier	....	colorist

Music Department
François Arbour	....	score mixer
François Arbour	....	score recordist
Roger Hewett	....	conductor: orchestra

Other crew
Maggy Belzile	....	production accountant
Karim El Fassi	....	key set production assistant
Alessandro Gallizzi	....	production assistant
Christian Gravel	....	HD/film process supervising assistant
Maryse Lesage	....	production coordinator
Brian O'Donnell	....	production assistant
Denis Proulx	....	medic

Production Companies

• Cinémaginaire Inc.
• Equinoxe Films
• Harold Greenberg Fund, The

Distributors

• Croco Film (2008) (Germany) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Lolafilms Distribución (2004) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Playtime S.A. (2004) (Greece) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox of Germany (Germany)
• A-Film Distribution
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Distribution Company (Argentina)
• Equinox Films
• Filmauro Distribuzione (2004) (Italy) (all media)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (France)
• Samuel Goldwyn Films (USA)
• Splendid Film (2004) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Montreal Casting  extras casting

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexual situations

Runtime:

88 min | Canada:92 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:99 min | Argentina:92 min | UK:85 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English | Italian | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Chile:Y7 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Germany:6 (f) | Australia:M | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Canada:14A | Netherlands:AL | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Le Village Gai, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Cinémaginaire Inc.

Trivia:

Both the film and the play (which the film is based upon) are based on Steve Galluccio's own life and experiences.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In two shots, the Italian flag is shown back to front. On the television, and on the computer monitor the Italian flag is shown as red, white, and green. The colors of the flag are green, white, and red.

Quotes:

Angelo:Being gay and Italian is a fate worse than... actually there is no fate worse than being gay and Italian.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Weird Sex and Snowshoes: A Trek Through the Canadian Cinematic Psyche (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

La Tarantella

One thinks it's easy to be gay in Canada - and is mistaken!

Unlike some other commentators, I knew nothing about this film except it's a comedy about gay men. So I didn't expect much, but got all the more! First of all, I was glad to see that the main character was neither the classic handsome Hollywood macho, nor a feminine gay man but just an average-looking young guy. The other guy does look more cliché, but then he's the one who ends up in the closet, feeling guilty about being gay. The acting is superb throughout the film.

Someone commented that it's not all that funny. Well, it's true - coming out and breaking up with family or your lover are always painful, and I don't like films which ignore this side of the story. If you're deeply touched by Angelo's story, then it has performed the task such films, I think, are supposed to do: to make the audience more sensitive to gay people's issues. At the same time, though, it's pretty funny - just like your own coming out is often funny looking back. The confession scene is hilarious, and I laughed my heart out at the gay helpline scene - working for a GLBT helpline myself, I can assure you: this is just as distorted as the image of the Italian community. (We could use that scene for training purposes, though: what not to do...)