LoginTo be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seemed to have a really solid reputation, I was quite eager to check it out. First of all, I have noticed that, even though I have seen tons of movies dealing with Nazi Germany, I have actually seen very little movies dealing with Fascist Italy. Well, this movie did give a pretty good idea on how intoxicating the Fascist propaganda was on the masses. Sure, it might seem appalling almost 80 years later but, back then, as displayed in this movie, pretty much everyone swallowed it and actually even enjoyed it. Concerning the movie itself, it was one of the favorite movies Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni made and it makes sense since they both delivered some of their best performances here. Eventually, even though it might seem to be a rather simple movie with only 2 characters and only 1 location, it turned out to be rather complex after all. Indeed, they basically gave us two complete opposite views on the political spectrum back then in Italy with, on one side, a Fascist housewife with 6 children and an anti-Fascist homosexual living by himself. What stroke me was how lonely these 2 characters were. Indeed, even though they were quite convinced about their personal political views, it didn’t bring them much happiness after all. It was probably even more surprising that they got along so well and that’s probably where the movie probably slightly lost me. The fact that they pushed it even further than being only unlikely friends probably didn’t help. Indeed, it was actually quite refreshing that there wouldn’t be anything sexual between these two characters, that their connection would be on a complete different level, so it felt rather misguided that they still had to have sex anyway. Eventually, I think I might have to re-watch this movie at some point to make up my mind about it. Anyway, to conclude, it really deserves its strong reputation though and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.
A Special Day Reviews
A classic
Posted : 1 year, 9 months ago on 27 July 2022 08:47
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A Special Day
Posted : 13 years, 2 months ago on 27 February 2011 08:23
Anytime I see the names Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni together in a movie I always get high hopes. Who could forget their spicy and sexy comedies Marriage Italian Style or Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow? Or their sublime but difficult and depressing Sunflower? A Special Day is humane, sensitive and presents a similar political scheme with the novel Mrs. Dalloway: that one day, that one brief encounter can profoundly change your life and open your world. They also share the common thread of a housewife going about her normal business before tiny tremors in her life present the facts and details that have always been in front of her in sharp detail. She always saw them, but they were blurred and located in the edges of her vision. Mastroianni's character never truly evolves or changes, but without his tortured, suicidal performance Loren's character and performance would be incomplete. It's a two-hander that shows two great actors and international movie stars at ease with each other and able to bring out the best in each other.
It's the late-30's and Hitler has come to Italy to talk to his supporters and, more importantly, Mussolini. He's greeted like traveling nobility, a rock star and the grandest of all movie stars rolled into one upon his arrival. Loren's seen getting her husband and six children ready for the rally. Once they've been sent off she is left to clean up the mess and ponder what it must be like to be swept up in the excitement. For her, Mussolini is as much a sublime authoritarian leader as he is a beefcake sex symbol. She has never truly put in any deep thought about his regime, who is siding with, what he is supporting, and why she so blindly just goes with it. All of that will soon change.
Marcello Mastroianni is cast against type as a homosexual who is trying to leave italy after losing his job and spouting out anti-government rhetoric. He specialized in self-tortured characters, but they were usually virile and womanizing. Remember his horn-dog playboy in Marriage Italian Style? Or the artistically constipated but romantically overflowing director in 8 ½? To see him play someone so quiet, tortured, and, yes, gay, is to see the true extent of his range as an actor. He had the harder job here since we're only told about his character and his psychology through his own words and actions. He doesn't turn Loren's character suddenly into an anti-Fascist political insurgent, but he gives her a tiny tremor within her life that we're entirely unsure how it will play out once the film is over. These characters feel like they will live and breathe on past the end of the film. They have enriched each others lives, but who knows how deeply they have effected them.
It's the late-30's and Hitler has come to Italy to talk to his supporters and, more importantly, Mussolini. He's greeted like traveling nobility, a rock star and the grandest of all movie stars rolled into one upon his arrival. Loren's seen getting her husband and six children ready for the rally. Once they've been sent off she is left to clean up the mess and ponder what it must be like to be swept up in the excitement. For her, Mussolini is as much a sublime authoritarian leader as he is a beefcake sex symbol. She has never truly put in any deep thought about his regime, who is siding with, what he is supporting, and why she so blindly just goes with it. All of that will soon change.
Marcello Mastroianni is cast against type as a homosexual who is trying to leave italy after losing his job and spouting out anti-government rhetoric. He specialized in self-tortured characters, but they were usually virile and womanizing. Remember his horn-dog playboy in Marriage Italian Style? Or the artistically constipated but romantically overflowing director in 8 ½? To see him play someone so quiet, tortured, and, yes, gay, is to see the true extent of his range as an actor. He had the harder job here since we're only told about his character and his psychology through his own words and actions. He doesn't turn Loren's character suddenly into an anti-Fascist political insurgent, but he gives her a tiny tremor within her life that we're entirely unsure how it will play out once the film is over. These characters feel like they will live and breathe on past the end of the film. They have enriched each others lives, but who knows how deeply they have effected them.
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