The Seduction of Mimi (1972)

In Sicily, the mine worker Carmelo "Mimí" Mardocheo votes in the Communist Party candidate instead of in the Mafia's one believing that the suffrage is secret. After the elections, he loses... See full summary »

Director:

Lina Wertmüller

Writers:

Lina Wertmüller (screenplay), Lina Wertmüller (story)

Stars:

Giancarlo Giannini, Mariangela Melato, Turi Ferro

8 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Giancarlo Giannini	...	Carmelo Mardocheo detto Mimí
Mariangela Melato	...	Fiorella Meneghini
Turi Ferro	...	Don Calogero / Vico Tricarico / Salvatore Tricarico
Agostina Belli	...	Rosalia Capuzzo in Mardocheo
Luigi Diberti	...	Pippino
Elena Fiore	...	Amalia Finocchiaro
Tuccio Musumeci	...	Pasquale
Ignazio Pappalardo	...	Massaro 'Ntoni
Gianfranco Barra	...	Serg. Amilcare Finnocchiaro
Livia Giampalmo	...	Violetta, bancarelaia
Rosaria Rapisarda
Umberto Lentini
Salvatore Savasta
Ottorino Russo
Giovanni Cori

Storyline

In Sicily, the mine worker Carmelo "Mimí" Mardocheo votes in the Communist Party candidate instead of in the Mafia's one believing that the suffrage is secret. After the elections, he loses his job and cannot find any other job in his village that is controlled by the mobster Don Calogero. He leaves his wife Rosalia with his family and travels to Turin expecting to find a job. He finds an illegal position in the civil construction that is also explored by the Mafia and when a coworker dies in an accident, he finds that the mobsters have dumped his body on the road. However, he does not report the crime to the police and lies to the mobster Salvatore Tricarico telling that he belongs to the family of a powerful mobster. Mimi gets a metallurgic position and joins the Communist Party. Then he fall in love with the virgin Trotskyite street vendor Fiorella Meneghini and they have a boy. When Mimi witness the mobster Vico Tricarico executing several men in a hotel, he survives but he does ...

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Plot Keywords:

large buttocks | situation comedy | sicily | police | cuckold | 

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Taglines:

He's been a husband, a lover, a cuckold and a Communist. Now he just wants to be free.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

28 June 1972 (France)

Also Known As:

The Seduction of Mimi

Filming Locations:

Catania, Sicily, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Euro International Film (EIA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Lo schermo a tre punte (1995)

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Soundtracks

La Cumparsita
Music by Sunny Skylar

User Reviews

Mildly interesting, but not nearly as funny as it was intended

Giancarlo Giannini plays a simple Southern Italian worker who unwisely thinks his local elections aren't 100% rigged by the local mob. Assuming it's a truly secret ballot, he disobeys the mobs instructions and votes for a local Communist instead. Well, he nearly gets himself killed in the meantime and is forced to run to Turin in the north. There, quite by accident, he runs afoul of the mob AGAIN and is nearly killed. In fact, this happens a lot in the film and the generally apolitical Giannini tries to play BOTH sides to his own benefit. In addition, he begins sleeping with several different women--once again hoping he can somehow balance it all and keep from getting killed. Despite all the many, many dangers, Giannini is somehow a survivor and the film has many cute little twists and turns.

I can tell that this satire was meant to be very funny, but I just didn't find myself laughing. While it is a good film, it's certainly not among the more memorable Italian films I have ever seen. It's slightly better than a time-passer, but that's really about all. I think the biggest reason for this isn't due to the humor but more to the fact that Giannini's character is a real selfish jerk. Had he been more sympathetic, I really think the film would have been more memorable. However, considering this film won many awards and was pretty well respected in its day, it is quite possible I am just an idiot. See it for yourself, but just be surprised if you, too, don't find the film all that interesting--or you think I am a lousy reviewer!