Dark Eyes (1987)

An Italian tells his story of love to a Russian. In a series of flashbacks, Romano Patroni leaves his wife to visit a spa where he falls in love with a Russian woman. He returns to Italy resolved to leave his wife and marry his love.

Director:

Nikita Mikhalkov (as Nikita Michalkov)

Writers:

Aleksandr Adabashyan (story and screenplay) (as Alexandre Adabascian), Nikita Mikhalkov (story and screenplay) (as Nikita Michalkov)

Stars:

Marcello Mastroianni, Silvana Mangano, Marthe Keller

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 10 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marcello Mastroianni	...	Romano
Marthe Keller	...	Tina, Romano's Mistress
Elena Safonova	...	Anna Sergeyevna, Governor's Wife (as Elena Sofonova)
Pina Cei	...	Elisa's Mother
Vsevolod Larionov	...	Pavel (Russian Ship Passenger)
Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy	...	Il Governarore di Sisoev (as Innochentij Smoktunovskj)
Roberto Herlitzka	...	L'Avvocato
Paolo Baroni	...	Manlio
Oleg Tabakov	...	Sua Grazia
Yuriy Bogatyryov	...	Il Maresciallo (as Jury Bogatiriov)
Dmitriy Zolotukhin	...	Konstantin (as Dimitri Zolothuchin)
Silvana Mangano	...	Elisa (Romano's Wife)
Jean-Pierre Bardos	...	Ospite sdraiato (as J. Pierre Bardos)
Nino Bignamini	...	L'acquirente
Maria Grazia Bon	...	Sua moglie

Storyline

Aboard a ship early in the 20th-century, a middle-aged Italian tells his story of love to a Russian. In a series of flashbacks filmed almost entirely in creams, whites, and ochers, the clownish and superfluous Romano Patroni leaves his wife's opulent home to visit a spa where he falls in love with a Russian woman whose marriage is a horror. He pursues her into the Russian heartland and returns to Italy resolved to leave his wife and marry his love. His amazed and appreciative Russian listener then narrates a shorter story.

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Plot Keywords:

love | husband wife relationship | buffoon | betrayal | entirely told in flashback | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of Silvana Mangano.

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Quotes

Romano: Hey Gypsies! It's me. I'm leaving soon, but I'll be back soon.

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Connections

Featured in Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember (1997)

User Reviews

well done international tale of romance

This Russian-Italian co-production from 1987 finds two older men, one Italian, the other Russian, talking in the empty dining hall of a slow ocean liner. The Italian tells his story in flashback, as we see him fight with his rich wife, which sends him to a health spa to recuperate, where he meets a bored, young and beautiful Russian woman who is herself unhappily married. After many overtures toward a romance, the Russian wife flees back home, and the Italian follows her, ostensibly on business, but truly in hopes of sparking the romance further.

The film is gorgeously photographed, and much attention is paid to costume and set design, as well as delicate color schemes. Marcello Mastroianni received his final of three Best Actor Oscar nominations for this, and he's wonderful as usual. Silvano Mangano plays his wife, and Marthe Keller appears as a family friend. I wasn't familiar with the Russian leads, Elena Safonova and Vsevolod Larionov, but they are fine as well. The story drags a bit in places, and lengthy passages of Russian without subtitles started to detract after a while (I'm not sure if this was the fault of the print I watched, or if it was intentional, to show the language barrier faced by Mastroianni's character).

Details

Country:

Italy Soviet Union

Language:

Italian Russian French

Release Date:

6 November 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gypsy Lover

Filming Locations:

Montecatini Terme, Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,201,428

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,201,428

Company Credits

Production Co:

Excelsior Film-TV, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, Sovinfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1