Happy as Lazzaro (2018)

An unceasingly kind Italian peasant and his family are blatantly exploited by a tobacco baroness.

Director:

Alice Rohrwacher

Writer:

Alice Rohrwacher

Stars:

Adriano Tardiolo, Agnese Graziani, Alba Rohrwacher

14 wins & 42 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adriano Tardiolo	...	Lazzaro
Agnese Graziani	...	Antonia bambina
Alba Rohrwacher	...	Antonia
Luca Chikovani	...	Tancredi giovane
Tommaso Ragno	...	Tancredi adulto
Sergi López	...	Ultimo
Natalino Balasso	...	Nicola
Carlo Tarmati	...	Carletto
Pasqualina Scuncia	...	Suora
Nicoletta Braschi	...	Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna
Edoardo Montalto	...	Pippo bambino
Carlo Massimino	...	Pippo adulto
Maddalena Baiocco	...	Stefania bambina
Gala Othero Winter	...	Stefania adulta
Giulia Caccavello	...	Teresa giovane

Storyline

This is the tale of a meeting between Lazzaro, a young peasant so good that he is often mistaken for simple-minded, and Tancredi, a young nobleman cursed by his imagination. Life in their isolated pastoral village Inviolata is dominated by the terrible Marchesa Alfonsina de Luna, the queen of cigarettes. A loyal bond is sealed when Tancredi asks Lazzaro to help him orchestrate his own kidnapping. This strange and improbable alliance is a revelation for Lazzaro. A friendship so precious that it will travel in time and transport Lazzaro in search of Tancredi. His first time in the big city, Lazzaro is like a fragment of the past lost in the modern world.

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Plot Keywords:

peasant | fake kidnapping | wolf | falling from height | abandoned house | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Italy Switzerland France Germany

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

30 November 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Happy as Lazzaro

Filming Locations:

Bagnoregio, Viterbo, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

€135,152 (Italy), 3 June 2018, Limited Release

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tempesta, Amka Films Productions, Ad Vitam Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The story of the film constructed from a real-life event that Alice Rohrwacher had been struck by in which an episode in which a Marchesa in Central Italy exploited the seclusion of some of her lands to keep her peasants in the dark about the end of sharecropping.

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Quotes

Marchesa Alfonsina De Luna: He who knows himself well is humbled in his own presence. And the praise of other men provokes no pleasure. If I were to know everything in the universe and scorned the charity who would bring me the grace of God? Who would judge my actions? One should go beyond the thirst for knowledge that is the root of distraction and disappointment.

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Soundtracks

Casta Diva
Aria taken from the opera "Norma" (1831)
Composed by Vincenzo Bellini

User Reviews

Mesmerizing and original

This was not at all what I expected, and I say that as huge praise. For a film to be able to surprise the way this does is a real achievement.