I girasoli (1970)

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 and screenplay) (as Antonio Guerra), Cesare Zavattini (story and screenplay)

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 Andreeva	...	Valentina Ivanovna - the Soviet official
Anna Carena	...	La madre di Antonio
Nadya Serednichenko	...	La contadina russa (as Nadja Cerednicenko)
Germano Longo	...	Ettore
Glauco Onorato	...	Il reduce
Silvano Tranquilli	...	L'operaio italiano
Marisa Traversi	...	La donna alla stazione
Gunars Cilinskis	...	Il 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:

soldier | russian front | flashback | eastern front | world war two | 

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Taglines:

A woman born for love. A man born to love her. A timeless moment in a world gone mad.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

Italy France Soviet Union USA

Language:

Italian English Russian

Release Date:

24 September 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sunflower

Filming Locations:

Bereguardo, Pavia, Lombardia, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compagnia Cinematografica Champion,Les Films Concordia,Mosfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 98 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie is considered to be the first occidental (i.e. western) film to be shot in Poltava, Ukraine.

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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

Featured in Passione: Episode #1.1 (2010)

User Reviews

powerful drama

Another Matroianni-Loren combination, if you liked "A Special Day", you'll like this one too. Unusual in many ways, it is a co-production Italy-USSR, and it was shot on location in both countries. Notable also the comparison between scenes of 1945 and 1960. An Italian soldier does not return from WWII and his wife eventually goes to Russia to find him many years after the war ended, only to dramatically find him in a living situation in a russian family. He too will travel to Italy, but to find her in a living situation, and he too will return alone. The title of the movie ("The Sunflowers") point to the main crop the fields of Russia that italian soldiers tried to retreat from in months of walking and walking. It's amazing that this reel is not available on video, maybe because it is slightly politicized in social portrayal (in the trip to Italy, the ex-soldier finds prostitutes, a clear sign of degradation of society of the West in the view of soviet propaganda).