Matrimonio a la italiana

When De Sica finally got around to filming Eduardo De Filippo's great play "Filumena" he chose two of Italian cinema's finest actors to play the leads and even if the change of title to "Marriage Italian Style" was something of a sop to commercialism the end result was still hugely satisfying. Sophia Loren, (magnificent), is Filumena, the Neopolitan prostitute, and Marcello Mastroianni, (also superb), the rich patron who strings her along for years, always finding an excuse not to marry her.

It is, of course, a comment on Italian machismo and of the subservient role of women in Italian society so perhaps the comic possibilities of the plot might escape a non-Italian audience, (comedy was never De Sica's strong point). Still, Sophia was never more radiant than she is here, so what's not to love, (she was Oscar-nominated), and De Sica does manage to keep the potential for sentimentality at arm's length. Unfortunately, the film isn't as highly thought of as it once was and isn't much seen today.