Bread and Tulips (2000)

After being forgotten in a highway café during a bus trip, a housewife decides to start a new life by herself in Venice.

Director:

Silvio Soldini

Writers:

Silvio Soldini (story), Doriana Leondeff (story)

Stars:

Licia Maglietta, Bruno Ganz, Giuseppe Battiston

32 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Licia Maglietta	...	Rosalba Barletta
Bruno Ganz	...	Fernando Girasole
Giuseppe Battiston	...	Costantino Caponangeli
Antonio Catania	...	Mimmo Barletta
Marina Massironi	...	Grazia
Felice Andreasi	...	Fermo
Vitalba Andrea	...	Ketty
Tatiana Lepore	...	Adele
Daniela Piperno	...	Woman in Car
Tiziano Cucchiarelli	...	Nic
Matteo Febo	...	Salvo
Lina Bernardi	...	Nancy
Mauro Marino	...	Lello
Antonia Miccoli	...	Sami
Ludovico Paladin	...	Eliseo

Storyline

Life is often just "for sake of" and we need to know about it and want to benefit when we are presented with the occasion to. A bit for "sake of", a bit for choice, Rosalba, young and apart from anything a housewife of Pescara, during a bus trip after she found herself alone and...forgotten in a highway café, decides not to wait for her husband and sons to come back to pick her up but instead decides to find her own way home. She is a little offended that she has been forgotten by her family and has been told by her husband to stay put so, rebelling a little she finds herself hitch-hiking direct for Venice. Her adventure in Venice begins meeting strange but fascinating people. Fermo; an anarchistic florist, Grazia; a masseuse and Fernando; a waiter from Iceland that speaks his own language of Italian.

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | italy | bus | housewife | waiter | 

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Taglines:

A woman's fairy tale of hope.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief language, some sensuality and drug references

Details

Official Sites:

Monogatari

Country:

Italy Switzerland

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

2 November 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Pan y tulipanes

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$32,933, 29 July 2001

Gross USA:

$5,311,177

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogatari, Istituto Luce, Rai Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Battle of Caporetto was a major battle (24 October-19 November 1917) in the First World War, where the German and Austro-Hungarian armies broke through the Italian lines inflicting a major defeat upon the Italian army.

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Quotes

Rosalba Barletta: Is it true that you're on drugs?
Nic: Who told you that?
Rosalba Barletta: Aunt Ketty.
Nic: Mom, that's not true. Weed is not a drug.
Rosalba Barletta: No? Then what is it?
Nic: Weed.

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Connections

Features Out of the Past (1947)

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Soundtracks

Disco Man
Written by Ranee Lee (as R. Lee), Alain Leroux (as A. Leroux) and Jacques Lafleche (as J. Lafleche)
Performed by Ranee Lee

User Reviews

Best movie I've ever seen

I don't generally go for love stories, but this is absolutely riveting. It IS sort of a fairy tale, as they say-- but more than this, it's well-written, beautifully set and properly cast. The protagonist is a woman who strays accidentally (?) from her tour group and finds her place in the older, almost bohemian district of Venice. Her new friends are quirky but endearing from the start, and she lives cozily in the center of this artistic enclave. All of this contrasts so well with the suburban drudgery she left behind-- it's as though she'd spent half of her life marking time in a world with which she felt no connection. It's not a story of angst or alienation-- just everyday people, creating for themselves the lives they were meant to lead.

I've watched the DVD dozens of times, where I barely make it halfway through most fictional flicks. Not a single scene is wasted. If I had to select one film for my very highest recommendation, this would be the one!