Days and Clouds (2007)

A well-off and sophisticated couple struggles to stay together after the husband loses his job.

Director:

Silvio Soldini

Writers:

Silvio Soldini (story), Doriana Leondeff (story)

Stars:

Margherita Buy, Antonio Albanese, Giuseppe Battiston

6 wins & 35 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Margherita Buy	...	Elsa
Antonio Albanese	...	Michele
Giuseppe Battiston	...	Vito
Alba Rohrwacher	...	Alice
Carla Signoris	...	Nadia
Fabio Troiano	...	Riki
Paolo Sassanelli	...	Salviati
Arnaldo Ninchi	...	Padre di Michele
Teco Celio	...	Ragionier Terzetti
Antonio Carlo Francini	...	Luciano
Carlo Scola	...	Fabrizio
Alberto Giusta	...	Roberto
Orietta Notari	...	Signora Carminati
Nicoletta Maragno	...	Restauratrice
Arianna Comes	...	Apprendista restauro

Storyline

Manager Michele lost his job but didn't tell his wife Eve, who was completing her art history PhD. Michele ponders whether to accept quickly a less lucrative job or hope for a better one. He opts to look for a higher paying job, in an attempt to retain their upper-middle class status and lifestyle, but is disappointed time and time again. Eventually, they are forced to sell their home and rent an apartment in a working class neighborhood. Meanwhile, she is forced to take two part-time jobs, and stop her volunteer work restoring a fresco. As the reality of their new working-class status emerges, they struggle to hold onto their sense of selves and their relationship.

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Plot Keywords:

party | gift | dinner | 

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Taglines:

Brilliant... Striking!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

FORGET ME
Written by Ettore Lombardi (as E. Lombardi) and Gino Mazzocchi (as L. Mazzocchi)
© Edizioni Chappell S.r.l.
cantata da Peppino Di Capri
Per gentile concessione di Edizioni Chappell S.r.l.

User Reviews

A Depressing Theme in Depressing Times: A Brilliant Film

Times are tough right now, mirroring the era of The Great Depression. Financial security is a ghost, friendships and relationships are tested by walking the razor edge of insolvency, and according to the 'popular movie' polls the escape for many is in the darkened movie houses with comic hero or animal animated mindless safety net entertainment. Not so with the very brilliant film DAYS AND CLOUDS written (with Doriana Leondeff, Francesco Piccolo, and Federica Pontremoli) and directed with immaculate attention to detail by Silvio Soldini (BREAD AND TULIPS, etc). Soldini recreates the global financial nightmare in the form of an examination of one family's fracture and consequences. It resonates despite the depressing story, offering a glimpse into the universal ties that bind us at this moment.

Elsa (Margherita Buy) is graduating from Art History and Restoration school and seems to be a woman on top of her league, complete with surprise gifts and a celebration staged by her husband Michele (Antonio Albanese). Waking up the morning after her congratulations party, Elsa is ill with a hangover, but even more shocked when Michele breaks the news to her that he has been out of work for two months, ashamed that he has lost his company and his job, hiding in the couple's boat during the day. There is no money left and the couple must face losing their home and are forced to take on menial tasks to survive. Pride prevents the couple from sharing their financial downfall with friends and with their one child - Alice (Alba Rohrwacher) who has elected not to pursue education in favor of waiting tables in a restaurant she has invested in with friends. The tension of keeping the secret to themselves causes mounting friction between the couple and events that would have never happened had they shared their misfortune with friends and family bring their relationship to a near fatal end. How they survive is touched, quietly and quickly and gently, at film's end.

Soldini spares no pain in the responses of his characters' misfortune, but at the same time he allows each character to emerge from ideal married tropes to completely human victims of financial ruin. Buy and Albanese are triumphant in their performances as the married couple caught in the crumble of decline. But there are fine performances by Rohrwacher and Fabio Troiano as her lover Riki, and Carla Signoris as Elsa's closest friend Nadia, and actors playing two ex-employees of Michele who provide a window of friendship in Michele's time of desperate need.

The cinematography by Ramiro Cirita and the musical score blending opera and folk music by Giovanni Venosta enhance the motion of the film that though just under two hours in length, appears more succinct. Silvio Soldini has taken a topic that affects us all and polished into a film that is bound to touch every viewer deeply. Highly recommended movie from The Film Movement. Grady Harp

Details

Country:

Italy Switzerland France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

11 July 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Days and Clouds

Filming Locations:

Genoa, Liguria, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

EUR300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,707, 13 July 2008

Gross USA:

$112,102

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,966,224

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amka Films Productions, Lumière & Company, Radiotelevisione Svizzera Italiana (RTSI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min 115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1