Lina Wertmuller was the natural successor to Fellini and one of the greatest directors of all time. She displays her mastery here in one of her gems Love and Anarchy. Giancarlo Giannini is the successor to Marcello Mastroianni, and Melato is a worthy successor to Loren. It is amazing how Italian cinema is a lot like the Yankees; They went from Ruth to Gehrig without blinking on then on to Dimaggio and Mantle the same way. So it is with Italian cinema. From Wertmuller, Giannini and Melato, Italian filmmaking moved seamlessly into the Tornatore period with his masterpiece Cinema Paradiso. Love and Anarchy is a bit raw, but that was what life was like precisely in Mussolini's Italy before his downfall. A great film.
Review of Love & Anarchy
