Two actors at their best (Roberto Benigni before he became big-headed after the world wide fame and the late lamented Massimo Troisi) playing a strange story, where these two young modern men wake up in 1492 after spending a night out because their car broke down.
Settled in the italian reinassance, pretty well depicted despite the low budget used, the movie is substantially a collection of sketches based on the struggles that the two men must fight against the different lifestyle, with some secondary stories based on historical personages lived in that time (Savonarola, Columbus, Da Vinci). This is one of the most beloved italian movie of all the times, and everybody saw this movie can remember all of the most famous dialogues (Vitellozzo after the death of his brother, the "remember that you shall die!" speech, the scene at the customs, and many others) by hearth, as they were funny and innovative.
Directed with a very slow rhythm, that adds a quite poetic touch to the story, this movie must be considered as a small masterpiece, a comedy unique of its kind. Comparing this with one of the later italian comedy should be done to understand the meaning of the term "good taste".
Unluckily, anybody without a very fluent italian can't completely enjoy this movie, because a big part of the funny side of this movie follows from the two heavy accents of the two main actors, mainly the one of Troisi.
