Listen to the voices. Can anyone deliver humorously sardonic lines like Clark Gable? Can any voice be as beguiling as Sophia Loren's. Can anyone but Vittorio De Sica be as funny as the Italian lawyer who claims blithely that "a man can be lawyer and a pig at the same time. It happens often."? Sophia also shows that we often put far too much store in voices that hit the notes rather than invest songs with a sense of character. Her two songs are invested with saucy sense of humour. Her version of "Americano" is worth a second and third listen and look. Has anyone swung an imaginary baseball bat in such a sexy manner? Marietto as Nando is one of the great child performances. He is winning without being ingratiating. He is presented as being street wise and yet vulnerable. He does not know more than the adults around him and he has only limited control of his life and destiny. Nando just wants to enjoy his life and we want this for him too. We really get to like Nando because he is a real little boy.
This film has much to say about what people come to value in life but it is always done with a sense of humour. It's also fun to watch and it's fun to listen to. Finding fun in life seems to be at the heart of It Started in Naples.
This film has much to say about what people come to value in life but it is always done with a sense of humour. It's also fun to watch and it's fun to listen to. Finding fun in life seems to be at the heart of It Started in Naples.