I'm writing this only because I felt this movie is unfairly underrated maybe because of the horrible review that the Spielberg lover wrote. Also, I was not able to find a semi-decent review. I'm not a film critic, so here is just a few bullet points.
It's not about the plot, that's what the Spielberg lover didn't get about the movie. The plot (and the several subplots) are all the platform to beautifully show the ordinary life in Naples, as said by Mastroianni towards the end of the movie (can't remember the exact translation, but something like beautiful and cruel). In the middle of crisis, an old friendship is so important to Marcelo Mastroianni. The movie brilliantly shows that with all contradictions, life is not too serious in Naples (even as simple as enjoying an icecream like a child), that people manage to have hobbies like writing or directing amateur plays, or how important family is, or how important the religion and traditions are (when though we never get to know how much Mastroianni really believed in them), how connected people are to each other, or enjoying the sunlight at the beach (AND ENJOY WASTING TIME), ..., and how proud they are even if they are poor (not asking or even accepting financial help when they need it most, or saying "but the criminals were from the north" although admitting the situation with crimes in their own city). What about the scene that Mastroianni is picking up the garbage and nagging about the drunks who trash the streets to showing his frustrations towards his beloved drink friend (doesn't he have the same feeling about his city and its people?), .... I would have to go through each and every scene if I want to go on. And, the contrast between the life styles. The first time we see Jack's Hotel room, we see a bottle of hard liquor and bunch of pills by his bed while he is suffering from a headache. What about the time that Jack orders whiskey but Marcello says no not at this time of the day, being him a such and such icecream. How about the openness of the people vs Jack (all he says about his personal life in the entire movie is that he is going through a divorce). And, what about the places, is there anything else left in the Naples that the director didn't show in the movie, but were we aware that we were getting a tour of all these places and neighborhoods, maybe we noticed how bad the traffic is)...
It's not about the plot, that's what the Spielberg lover didn't get about the movie. The plot (and the several subplots) are all the platform to beautifully show the ordinary life in Naples, as said by Mastroianni towards the end of the movie (can't remember the exact translation, but something like beautiful and cruel). In the middle of crisis, an old friendship is so important to Marcelo Mastroianni. The movie brilliantly shows that with all contradictions, life is not too serious in Naples (even as simple as enjoying an icecream like a child), that people manage to have hobbies like writing or directing amateur plays, or how important family is, or how important the religion and traditions are (when though we never get to know how much Mastroianni really believed in them), how connected people are to each other, or enjoying the sunlight at the beach (AND ENJOY WASTING TIME), ..., and how proud they are even if they are poor (not asking or even accepting financial help when they need it most, or saying "but the criminals were from the north" although admitting the situation with crimes in their own city). What about the scene that Mastroianni is picking up the garbage and nagging about the drunks who trash the streets to showing his frustrations towards his beloved drink friend (doesn't he have the same feeling about his city and its people?), .... I would have to go through each and every scene if I want to go on. And, the contrast between the life styles. The first time we see Jack's Hotel room, we see a bottle of hard liquor and bunch of pills by his bed while he is suffering from a headache. What about the time that Jack orders whiskey but Marcello says no not at this time of the day, being him a such and such icecream. How about the openness of the people vs Jack (all he says about his personal life in the entire movie is that he is going through a divorce). And, what about the places, is there anything else left in the Naples that the director didn't show in the movie, but were we aware that we were getting a tour of all these places and neighborhoods, maybe we noticed how bad the traffic is)...