I wouldn't let this one pass by during
the current sale. It really is an enjoyable film that most have probably never heard of or seen. One of
the unsung treasures in Twilight Time's catalog. I am reposting and updating my earlier review because this film deserves to be sold out already, and especially at this price.
Italo Bombolini: It's nice to have a hot meal before you die.
Rosa Bombolini: You aren't going to die.
Italo Bombolini: I'm the mayor, no? The Germans come. I greet them. They threaten me! I spit in their face! They put a pistol to my head and blow out my brains!
Rosa Bombolini: Why would they put a pistol to your head? The whole world knows Bombolini's brains are in his ass.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria should be in
the collection of everyone who loves a good WWII yarn that doesn't take itself too seriously and, for a little over two hours, gives us some strong character acting to enjoy along with an engaging story.
I love this movie. It isn't pretending to be more than it is, no big moral themes to ponder or calls to look at ourselves in
the mirror as we often find in
the many great films of Stanley Kramer. Nope, what you get in
the Secret of Santa Vittoria is Kramer having some fun with his subject matter. This isn't a great film, but it is quite a good one, a serious drama and a comedy (dramady) rolling around together onscreen, which means you get good belly laughs from watching
the antics of
the main characters and
the sometimes absurd situations that develop from
the terrors of an Italian village being occupied by German troops. People get killed,
the threat of death and destruction are ever present, but amid
the grim realities of war coming to a peaceful Italian village we are allowed to see
the humor in
the lives and resilient attitudes of its people.
The plot revolves around
the villagers trying to hide from
the Germans
the one thing they have that is worth anything (and
the basis of their limited prosperity) - their excellent locally produced wine.
The Germans, of course, know
the reputation of
the village for making good wine and want to seize
the latest vintage in order to sell it off for their own profit. What ensues is a tense but fun game of wits, hide and seek, cat and mouse, as
the villagers put aside their own differences to protect their economic asset of 1,000,000 bottles from being found and confiscated.
What makes this film so good is
the strength of its casting. If you are a fan of Anthony Quinn like me, then be prepared for movie nirvana as we watch Quinn in one of his best performances. Quinn plays a man named Italo Bombolini, who is a bit of a buffoon to casual observers.... often drunk, frequently engaged in dramatic but hilarious verbal fights with his long-suffering wife Rosa, played with equal aplomb by
the magnificent Anna Magnani. Bombolini is an emotional man in
the style of characters frequently played by Quinn (think Zorba
the Greek). He dances and sings when happy, cries when sad, and isn't afraid to let it all hang out on his wine-stained sleeves. But Bombolini isn't so simple a caricature, and inside him are founts of wisdom and intelligence deep enough to conceive of a plan to deceive
the Germans and put them off
the scent of grapes. Bombolini gets his chance when early in
the film we learn that
the fascist Mussolini government has surrendered and, amid
the celebrations, Bombolini is found high up on a water tower too outrageously drunk to fear falling to his death. This is interpreted as bravery by
the crowd gathered below. When
the townspeople learn that
the surrender of their government doesn't mean peace and an end to war like they thought - that in fact
the German army is now occupying all of Italy including their town - they make Bombolini their leader and representative.
Hardy Kruger stars as Captain Sepp von Plum,
the young aristocratic officer in charge of
the German forces, who Bombolini interacts with on affairs of
the village, including orders to produce
the wine stocks within a certain period of time. Kruger is one of my favorite actors (
Sundays and Cybele,
Hatari!,
The Wild Geese). In real life, he was conscripted into
the Waffen SS in 1945 at
the age of 16 as
the Third Reich faced invasion by
the Allies. With his Nordic good looks, he frequently played German soldiers or adventurers in films during
the 1950s and 60s and made each of his roles memorable, as he does here. His character also has an attraction to a local woman, who is in love with a young man who has deserted from
the Italian army and she is hiding from
the Germans, which results in deadly peril for them both.
The PQ on this Blu-ray transfer is excellent.
The film was shot on location in Italy; among its highlights is
the marvelous cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno, who lensed many well-known films of
the era for directors like Fellini, de Sica, Visconti, and Kramer, among them
Amarcord,
Fellini Satyricon,
All That Jazz,
The Leopard,
On the Beach,
Sunflower,
Yesterday Today and Tomorrow,
Carnal Knowledge....
the list of his accomplishments is impressive.
The Secret of Santa Vittoria also won
the Golden Globe for Best Comedy and was nominated for two academy awards.
All countries
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Linear Mode
