Il cielo cade (2000)

1943, an estate north of Firenze. The weight of the world is on the shoulders of Penny, who's about 10. An orphan, she must watch over her little sister when they go to live with her aunt ... See full summary »

Directors:

Andrea Frazzi, Antonio Frazzi

Writers:

Lorenza Mazzetti (novel), Suso Cecchi D'Amico (screenplay)

Stars:

Isabella Rossellini, Jeroen Krabbé, Barbara Enrichi

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Isabella Rossellini	...	Katchen
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Wilhelm
Barbara Enrichi	...	Rosa
Gianna Giachetti	...	Elsa
Luciano Virgilio	...	Arthur
Azzurra Antonacci	...	Maria
Bruno Vetti	...	Il parroco
Selene Maltauro
Mauro Marino	...	Cosimo
Bettina Giovannini	...	Signora Pinzauti
Veronica Niccolai	...	Penny
Lara Campoli	...	Baby
Elena Safonova	...	Maja (as Elena Sofonova)
Paul Brooke	...	Mr. Pitt
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cosimo Bani

Storyline

1943, an estate north of Firenze. The weight of the world is on the shoulders of Penny, who's about 10. An orphan, she must watch over her little sister when they go to live with her aunt and uncle. Penny's a Catholic, and worries about her uncle's soul. He's Jewish, progressive and a free thinker, a fair boss, and devoted to his family. He can be stern, so Penny also worries that she'll never please him and that he won't love her. Then, after the Allied forces land in Sicily and the Germans begin their retreat, Penny must worry about her uncle's life. She tries logic and appeals to human decency. Can a child keep the sky from falling?

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Plot Keywords:

catholic | sicily | german | orphan | three word title | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Jeroen Krabbé's name is misspelled "Jeroun" in the opening credits (which pronounced in Italian probably sounds more like the way his name should be pronounced).

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Goofs

When Wilhelm is playing chess with the general, he performs a mate in 3 beginning with a rook sacrifice. However, on the last move he is seen to move his knight to the wrong square, giving only check instead of checkmate. There is a continuity error here, as in the next shot we see the knight on the correct square, delivering mate.

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Connections

Referenced in Settembre in Mugello e Val di Sieve (2009)

User Reviews

A moving story about tolerance and terror set in Italy during World War 2

The film made the point that it was possible for a Jewish family to live in wartime Italy in the idyllic country scene,where children did childish things and lived a normal life.The family servants,the clergy and the local population knew who they were,and they were not persecuted.It was only when the retreating German Army came on the scene that the fate of the family was sealed.I understand the story is based on incidents in the Mazzetti family,and may be written as a novel,but I can understand why it was written and filmed the way it was.I found the film engaging and very moving.

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian German English

Release Date:

26 May 2000 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Sky Is Falling

Filming Locations:

Bivigliano, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Parus Film, Viva Cinematografica S.r.l., Istituto Luce

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color