"Marriage Italian Style" is director Vittorio De Sica's fourth collaboration with the actress Sophia Loren. Loren's sensual exiting beauty, fine comic timing, combined with a brilliant script and the rare chemistry with the co-star Marcello Mastroianni makes the film an excellent combination of a sparkling and amusing farce and a poignant drama of one woman's life and struggles in the post-war Italy. As Domenico Soriano, a wealthy, arrogant and selfish Neapolitan businessman, Mastroianni is on the verge of marrying a younger woman when he hears that his long time mistress, ex-prostitute Filomena, is on her deathbed. He rushes to her side and agrees to marry Filomena in hopes to soon become a widower but when she recovers "miraculously" he recognizes that her illness was only a trick. Then, in her flashbacks, we learn that she did it for the sake of her three children of whom Domenico knew nothing about and one of them (or maybe all) could be his... Mastroianni and Loren had perhaps the best on-screen chemistry ever; it is delight to see them together in this film as well as in "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" and "The Sunflowers" - little known but wonderful Soviet - Italian film, both by Vittorio De Sica. I also liked them together in Altman's "Prêt-à-Porter" (1994) aka "Ready to Wear". One scene in Marriage Italian Style should be on the list of the best ever filmed - young Filomena walks down a sidewalk in Naples to meet with Dominico and every man, regardless of his age stares at her with desire. I am a woman but I could not take my eyes off her - Cleopatra or Nefertity could've walked like that. My verdict - they don't make comedies like that anymore. 9.5/10
Review of Marriage Italian Style
