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

18 wins & 51 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

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,802,696

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

Luca Chikovani (Tancredi) is a young actor and singer-songwriter raised by the internet. In 2014, after moving to Rome together with his mother, he started uploading YouTube cover videos of hit songs by the most popular artists among teenagers, especially Justin Bieber and One Direction, reaching a total of over 5 million views.

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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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Connections

Referenced in Modern Love: The Race Grows Sweeter Near Its Final Lap (2019)

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Soundtracks

Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1: Prelude and Fugue No. 8 in E-flat minor BWV.853
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach

User Reviews

Homo Homini Lupus?

Tender, poetic, philosophical, allegorical tale of control and exploitation and funnily enough the picture of the absurd yet the-truest-that-I've-ever-seen state of contentment. The sheer atrocities of manipulation and shameless discrimination of the fellow earthlings is heart-wrenching and tough to watch yet the poetic whiff that imbues it draws an overwhelming feeling of self-realization and utter admiration and gratitude towards the author of this Film-classic that questions the destiny of innocence in the Contemporary world.