Why such a low rating? OK ,with a few exceptions ,Denys De La Patellière did not make many enthusing movies ;but hindsight displays some obsolete charms in "Tempo di Roma ". Filmed on location (check the title) , it's too bad it was not in
color.
Directing is mediocre and editing sometimes absurd , which is a pity for the novel was. In turn comic, nostalgic, and even tragic. There's something crazy that a better director could have captured ,notably the performance of Molière 's Don Juan's performance : it was a special case in the playwright's work: a comedy which ends as a tragedy: that 's what happens in the movie!
On the plus side , there 's Albert Valentin 's lines -without a stupid purge ,he could have been one of our best directors ('Marie-Martine" "vie de plaisir" "l'entraineuse" ) ;he meets another victim of the purge ,the glorious Arletty , who cannot be bad even though she's directed by a drudge : it's all the more precious to watch this movie since it was the thespian's last appearance on screen ,before going blind.
And Aznavour is not bad either as the clueless naive French man who becomes a tourist guide by chance ;"But I know nothing about Rome ",he says "neither do they-the tourists _,says the man with whom he goes in a partnership .The funniest moment is the first "guided " tour of Roma town, : as he is totally ignorant ,he invents another history ,mistaking Ben Hur for Spartacus ,having Vespasian and Titus live circa 80 AD, and making Ceasar Borgia his father's murderer .Once thing for sure "Julius Ceasar lived here"! And thanks to Valentin's sometimes witty dialogue , the tour guide exam and Arletty's Parigot slang (Parisian slang)are fun too.
Do not expect a great film;besides Aznavour does not sing though there's plenty of music in the movie and though the music was written by his partner Georges Gavarentz .But do not be too harsh either!
