Epic romantic melodrama , set at the end of World War II , dealing with an Italian woman , Giovanna, she is a bereft war bride living near Milan , she conducts a desperate search for her husband, a soldier considered missing in action in Russia during WWII. As her husband never returned after serving on the Russian front . As Giovanna wandering over what feels like the whole of Russia and looking for clues her hubby. A woman born for love. A man born to love her. A timeless moment in a world gone mad. In a world gone mad...a love story. Filmed in Russia from the Kremlin to the Ukraine. A love story that spans two tempestuous decades in a motion picture of extraordinary power and enchantment!
Excruciating drama in which Sophia Loren plays a headstrong Italian wife looking for hubby , going to Russia to find him, starting in the town near the winter battle when he disappeared and much picturesque and soul-searching later she finds him with unexpected consequences . It is a heart-rending and heart-breaking studio of a beloved couple sadly separated by an unfortunate fate . There's a flashback to their brief courtship near her hometown of Naples, his 12-day leave to marry her, and ruses to keep from deploymentby posing as a nutty man . Sofia Loren gives a nice acting as the obstinate woman who refuses to accept that her husband missing on the Russian front, is dead. While Marcello mastroianni is perfect as the amnesic man missing in battle . The Technicolor cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno and David Vinitsi is truly gorgeous. Shot on location in Russia and infact , this film is deemed to be the first occidental film to be shot in Poltava, Ukraine .And positively soaked in one of Henri Mancini's lushest soudtracks.
The motion picture produced by Carlo Ponti and Joseph H Levine , was stunningly directed by Vittorio de Sica . De Sica told about Loren : ¨I consider Sophia a great , a good actress and a great personality. Because she is a Neopolitan. Like me. We are the same people, the same origin. And we feel together the same. Yes, for me, I am very happy when I work with Sophia¨. De Sica was a famous actor and director .He turned to filmmaking in 1940 , making light comedies. His fifth movie collaborated with writer Cesare Zavattini , I Bambi ni ci guardano ,in which showed great sensitivity and nice fIl making . It was also the first movie he made with writer Zavattini with whom he would subsequently shoot "Shoeshine" , and Bicycle thief .After the boxoffice disaster "Umberto D" , he abandoned the Neorrealist genre to make more commercial films than previous . Subsequently , he he made "Yesterday , Today and Tomorrow" with Marcelo Mastroiani and Sofia Loren in which he won another Oscar . His two final films were Garden of Finzi Contini and A brief vacation that had limited success .Rating 7/10 . Worthwhile watching . Above average . Essential and indispensable seeing for Italian films buffs .
