My parents plan to visit Italy soon, so when we looked for a streaming movie of reasonably short length, it didn't surprise me that they both wanted to see this Vittorio De Sica piece. At the same time, they expected it to show its age. After all, their parents' generation had crushes on Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.
Not that anyone's likely to crush on their characters in this comedy-drama. It's hardly a steamy or heartwarming romance. Rich man Domenico takes to much younger prostitute Filumena under unusual circumstances. For the next 22 years, he takes care of her financially but seldom shows up despite her strong desire for him, apparently regarding her as a treasure to show off only in certain company. Both of them continue to bed others. This is revealed in flashbacks, while in the present, she finally gets him to marry her by feigning terminal illness. As you might imagine, this does not improve his feelings for her...immediately.
I spent a fair chunk of the movie wondering which of the two had more right to be angry at the other. Ultimately, I'd say Filumena, who generally commits her wrongdoings in desperation rather than apathy. I also wondered how she could possibly make her gambit pay off. Well, here's a hint: Her other patrons left legacies in addition to Domenico, which he learns only after the wedding -- without knowing whose is his. I still find it hard to relate to their eventual return to passion, but that could be chalked up to either comic exaggeration or my own inexperience in such matters.
Is it funny by our modern American standards? A tad; we all chuckled now and then, but none of us are big on bad-marriage humor. I do give it credit for not lending itself to easy comparison to other films I've seen (much in contrast with the subject of my previous review). It was a decent way to get better acquainted with Loren, Mastroianni, and De Sica. I may have to give Divorce Italian Style a shot after a while.
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