Tea with Mussolini (1999)

An orphaned Italian boy is raised amongst a circle of British and American women living in Mussolini's Italy before and during World War II.

Director:

Franco Zeffirelli

Writers:

John Mortimer (screenplay), Franco Zeffirelli (screenplay)

Stars:

Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cher	...	Elsa
Judi Dench	...	Arabella
Joan Plowright	...	Mary
Maggie Smith	...	Lady Hester
Lily Tomlin	...	Georgie
Baird Wallace	...	Luca
Charlie Lucas	...	Luca (child)
Massimo Ghini	...	Paolo
Paolo Seganti	...	Vittorio
Claudio Spadaro	...	Mussolini
Mino Bellei	...	Cesare
Paul Chequer	...	Wilfred
Tessa Pritchard	...	Connie
Michael Williams	...	British Consul
Paula Jacobs	...	Molly

Storyline

In 1935 a group of elderly British women, whom the Italians have named the Scorpioni, have chosen Italy, specifically Florence, as a place to live to blend their proper British sensibilities with their love of Italian art and culture. One of those Scorpioni, Mary Walsh (Dame Joan Plowright), works as the English secretary for Paolo Innocente (Massimo Ghini), who, in part because of his own wife's adamant refusal, largely neglects his illegitimate adolescent son, Luca (Baird Wallace), despite Paolo's want for Luca to grow up to be a proper young man, much like the English. Luca has lived in an orphanage since his dressmaker mother's death, death a concept that Luca does not yet understand. As such, he often runs away looking for his mother. On a mutual agreement between Paolo and Mary, Mary becomes Luca's guardian, she who will receive help in raising Luca by her fellow Scorpioni and financial help from Paolo as needed. Associated with the Scorpioni is a brash younger nouveau riche ...

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Plot Keywords:

italy | semi autobiographical | il duce | mussolini | pre war | 

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Taglines:

A story of civilized disobedience

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, language, brief nudity and some mild violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Arabella's (Dame Judi Dench's) dog Nikki was Writer and Director Franco Zeffirelli's dog.

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Goofs

The tanks the Germans ride in are, in fact, U.S. Army M4 Shermans, not German-built Panzers.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title Card: Florence 1935.
Title Card: The love affair between the artistically-inclined English community and Florence was soon to be overshadowed by the clouds of war.
Title Card: But at the moment the sun is still shining on the squares and statues, and the dictator Mussolini is the gentleman who makes the trains run on time.
Connie Raynor: Excuse me, are you the Consul?
British Consul: Yes.
Connie Raynor: Connie Raynor of the Morning Post. I'm fascinated to know what His Majesty's Consul in Florence makes of it all?
British Consul: I can't believe your readers would be interested...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The MGM DVD, ISBN 0-7928-4300-2, is missing least one shot: The original tea with Mussolini scene ends with Mussolini forcing himself upon the reporter, forcing her onto his desk (i.e., he rapes her.) This DVD omits that ending and leaves the reporter's change in behavior unexplained.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

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Soundtracks

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Written by Jerome Kern, Otto A. Harbach
Performed by Cher

User Reviews

Cher and an all-star cast make this wartime soaper memorable

After nearly 20 years as a top pop and television star, Cher suddenly skyrocketed to film stardom in the mid-80's, walked off with an Academy Award, ranked among the top ten box-office stars and just as suddenly disappeared from the big screen in 1991 after one last hit "Mermaids"(1990) cleaned up at cinemas. In 1999 she made a tremendous comeback with a multimillion selling CD "Believe"(Warner Bros, 1998) and most impressively returned to the big screen with a luminous performance in Franco Zefferelli's "Tea With Mussolini"(MGM,1999). Reviews were mixed but after I saw this in the movie theater, I felt the film was rather good. Based on an autobiography by Zefferelli recounting his early years trying to survive the Nazi-Mussolini atrocities of WWII. During this dangerous time Zefferelli was protected by a coterie of socialite dowagers played splendidly by Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Lily Tomlin and of course Cher who was perfectly cast as a gorgeous Jewish chanteuse. The story has some holes and the film was probably edited down too much for its US release that cause some continuity issues but this is overall a charming, thoughtful period piece highlighted by Cher at her latter day peak. Shame this success did not resuscitate her dormant film career. She has made nothing of note since.

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

Italy UK

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

14 May 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tea with Mussolini

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,633,183, 16 May 1999

Gross USA:

$14,401,563

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,401,563

Company Credits

Production Co:

Medusa Film, Cattleya, Cineritmo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1