The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Giardino dei Finzi-Contini, Il) (1970)

The Garden of the Finzi-Continis pictures

7	Listal rating
7.7	IMDB rating

Drama (1), History (1), Italy (1), Literature (1)

Description

94 minutes. Amid the ravages of WWII, the Finzi-Continis, a cultured Jewish family languished in aristocratic splendor on their Eden-like estate in Ferrara, Italy. As the political atmosphere becomes increasingly hostile to its Jewish citizens, ... Full Descriptionthe handsome and carefree Finzi-Continis children, Micol (Dominique Sanda) and Alb 94 minutes. Amid the ravages of WWII, the Finzi-Continis, a cultured Jewish family languished in aristocratic splendor on their Eden-like estate in Ferrara, Italy. As the political atmosphere becomes increasingly hostile to its Jewish citizens, ... Full Descriptionthe handsome and carefree Finzi-Continis children, Micol (Dominique Sanda) and Alberto (Helmut Berger), turn their well appointed home into a refuge for their young friends. In an atmosphere of emotional instability, they play out a series of heartbreaking romantic rituals which spiral into tragedy as Facism gradually descends upon their world. Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film.
Vittorio De Sica's beautifully photographed masterpiece, THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS, is a return to the fine dramas (SHOESHINE, THE BICYCLE THIEF) of his early days as a director. Based on the autobiographical novel by Giorgio Bassani, the film covers the lives of several Jewish characters from the onset of Mussolini's anti-Semitic edicts in 1938 to the arrest and deportation of all of the Italian Jews in 1943. The lead character, Giorgio (Lino Capolicchio), is a middle-class student invited by the fabulously wealthy Finzi-Continis to research his thesis in the family's private library. While pursuing his studies, Giorgio falls in love with the family's beautiful daughter, Micol (Dominique Sanda), who rebuffs his advances. Meanwhile, Mussolini is slowly dissolving the rights of all Italian Jews, though the Finzi-Contini family appears unable to accept this fact, let alone deal with its consequences. Viewed from the perfect vision of hindsight, the GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS is more than just a story of unrequited love set in turbulent times--it is a tragic, cautionary account of how the most elevated and aristocratic members of a society can ignore their approaching destruction.

Master storyteller Vittorio de Sica sets his last great film, THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS in the small Italian town of Ferrara during World War II. The Finzi-Continis, a wealthy Jewish family, live in a castle surrounded by a beautiful garden. While the garden creates the family's physical barrier to the outside world, an elaborate series of psychological barriers allow the family to avoid thinking about the fascists who rule the country beyond their gates. But like all Italian Jews, the Finzi-Continis cannot escape the effects of the war raging around them, and the times eventually catch up to them. A work of fine detail and striking beauty, de Sica's film is inarguably one of the masterpieces of world cinema.

Theatrical release: December 16, 1971. Re-released theatrically in New York City November 8, 1996. Shot on location in Ferrara Italy, the film went on to receive first prize at the Berlin Film Festival, and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. Considered one of De Sica's finest works, the film was re-released theatrically in New York City on November 8, 1996.

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Directed by

Vittorio De Sica

Starring (View all) :

Giorgio

Micòl Finzi Contini

Bruno Malnate

Giorgio's Father

Alberto

Micol's Father

Micol's Grandmother

Micol's Mother

Giorgio's Mother

Giorgio's Mother

Written by (View all) :

Giorgio Bassani

(novel)

Vittorio Bonicelli

(writer)

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