È già ieri

Imitation is the best form of flattery. In an unusual reverse, the Italian cinema made a remake of a successful American comedy, "Groundhog Day", adapting it to the screen in which an arrogant man, a television personality, gets stuck in time. Filippo, the host of a nature oriented program, is an insufferable idiot who must coordinate his own costume to the animal that is being shown.

The producer of the show decides to play a trick on Filippo when he sends him to the Canary islands in search of the storks that make their habitat in the crater of a volcano. Accompanied only by his cameraman, Enrico, he makes a nuisance of himself by continuing to make his demands on the modest hotel where he has to stay, to Rita the woman that is in charge of seeing the animals are taken care of, and to everyone that comes in contact with him.

For all he knows, Filippo cannot get past August 13. He knows exactly what happens to whom because he has lived the different situations on what must be the longest day of his life.

The film directed by Giulio Manfredonia, capitalizes on the bubbling personality of Filippo, who is an unhappy individual. His stay in the remote outpost makes him grow up, something he needed badly. Goya Toledo is Rita, the woman that catches Filippo's fancy. Fabio De Luigi, Asuncion Balaguer, and the rest of the supporting cast do a nice job for Mr. Manfredonia.

Comparisons are sometimes unfair, but unfortunately, the Italian version, although with its own merits, does not measure to the original film, which happens to most remakes. One good point for movie makers trying to improve on something that cannot be improved.