★ 7 / 10
The “Scorpioni” are a bunch of entitled and
CinemaSerf
The “Scorpioni” are a bunch of entitled and privileged British women who live in Florence in the 1930s under the leadership of “Lady Hester” (Dame Maggie…
The “Scorpioni” are a bunch of entitled and privileged British women who live in Florence in the 1930s under the leadership of “Lady Hester” (Dame Maggie Smith). She is the widow of the former British Ambassador and is not entirely unsympathetic to the aspirations of “Il Duce”. Occasionally, they have to tolerate the interloping presence of the brash and wealthy American actress “Elsa” (Cher) but even with the aggressive rise of the fascists, that appears to be the only inconvenience in their rarified world. One of their number, “Mary” (Joan Plowright) is a kindly soul, and has taken the recently orphaned young “Luca” (Charlie Lucas) under her wing - and that provides a link, of sorts, between herself and the American who also cares deeply for the young lad and who wants to make some providion for his future. When the civil disorder starts to interrupt the sanctity of afternoon tea, “Lady Hester” is outraged and seeks an audience with Mussolini and whilst there she promised that he will personally guarantee her safety. Doubtless, as soon as she left his palace he had forgotten all about her, but armed with a photo of the two together she assumes he is as good as his word. When war breaks out between Italy and Britain, the ladies are dragooned into a dormitory and thence to an hotel, and she still believes she is being looked after. We, on the other hand, soon learn just who their guardian angel actually is, and when the US enters the war, even “Elsa” finds herself on a sticky wicket. “Luca” (now Baird Wallace) has got himself involved with the resistance and so is trying to help the ladies when he can, but after “Elsa” makes quite an important error of judgement just about everyone is in peril from the Gestapo. The story is a little strung out, but it’s beautiful settings in Florence and Siena and that lovely sunshine on the stonework gives the film a gorgeous richness to it’s look. The ensemble cast are a formidable array of talents, and although only really sparingly used it’s worth noting Dame Judi Dench’s effort as the somewhat windswept artist “Arabella” and the frequently scene-stealing Lily Tomlin as the no-nonsense “Georgie” - quite possibly the only woman with her head screwed on properly amongst the lot of them. The story has something of the end of empire to it, epitomised by a distinct change in attitudes towards English as opposed to German at school, and the writing does contain some humour as we follow the antics of these ladies who, I have to say, never really had much of a clue as to the goings-on in the real world anyway. It spans pretty much an whole decade and is prone to quite considerable leaps in time, but that actually serves quite well to showcase some of the starkness of the changes in their attitudes and behaviour as the war raged on. Might it be autobiographical from Zeffirelli? Well it has a haphazard authenticity to it that could suggest some of these characters might have been real, or almost real, and the amiability of it all makes it worth a watch - just to see these pros both in front and behind the camera in action.
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★ 7 / 10
The English in Italy
DesbUK
The Italian Anglophile Franco Zefferelli's endearing account of Englishness in 1930s/40s Italy is amongst his finest films. He co-wrote it with the English…
The Italian Anglophile Franco Zefferelli's endearing account of Englishness in 1930s/40s Italy is amongst his finest films. He co-wrote it with the English writer John Mortimer. It begins in Italy in 1935 at Elizabeth Barret Browning's grave - a symbol which bonds England and Italy. The English expatriates are represented by Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and a compelling Maggie Smith (winning the 1999 Bafta for Best Supporting Actress). Plowright is secretary to an Italian businessman who wants his young son Lucca to grow up to be a proper English gent - so Plowright teaches him Shakespeare and feeds him bacon and eggs. Then the rise of fascism means Lucca must be sent off to Austria. There follows a quite touching scene where the English ladies say goodbye by reciting the St Crispin Day's speech from Henry V at the railway station.
The remainder of the drama follows the ladies' fortunes under the dictatorship of Mussolini. Smith's character, Lady Hester, is the widow of a former British ambassador, and does indeed take afternoon tea with Il Duce. The English ladies end up being in-turned but their Englishness remains defiant. During the Allied invasion of Italy, they are liberated by a Scottish regiment. Lady Hester declares: "The Germans and the Italians couldn't get rid of us, so there's no reason why we should surrender to the Scots."
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TOMATOMETER
· 36 reviews
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AUDIENCE
· 5K ratings
6.9/10
14K
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Not the best quality but at least the original audio has been preserved. Non english part with russian subtitles. Any variant is better than dubbing...