Così ridevano (1998)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Gianni Amelio

Writers:

Gianni Amelio (writer) and
Daniele Gaglianone (writer) ...

Release Date:

2 October 1998 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Turin at the end of the fifties: two brothers have emigrated there from Sicily and the older works very...

Plot Keywords:

Turin | Sicily | Violence | Immigrant | Emigration

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Francesco Giuffrida	...	Pietro
Enrico Lo Verso	...	Giovanni
Rosaria Danzè	...	Lucia
Fabrizio Gifuni	...	Pelaia
Claudio Contartese	...	Rosario
Domenico Ragusa	...	Simone
Simonetta Benozzo	...	Ada
Pietro Paglietti	...	Battista
Corrado Borsa	...	Teacher at Examination
Barbara Braga	...	Girl at Bar
Calogero Caruana	...	Giovanni's Friend
Edoardo Ciciriello	...	School Assistant from Naples
Valerio Contartese	...	Unemployed Boy from Calabria
Iolanda Donnini	...	Mrs. Verusio
Erika Doria	...	Alessandra

Also Known As:

The Way We Laughed

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | France:U | Italy:T

Filming Locations:

Turin, Piedmont, Italy

Company:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica

Trivia:

The title refers to the back page of a popular 1950s Italian magazine which had a section devoted to old jokes that were no longer funny but still evoked a sense of nostalgia. One such joke is repeated throughout the film: "How do you get four elephants in a Fiat?" The answer: "Two in front and two in back".

Quotes:

Giovanni: You think your children are your own, then they learn to walk and they leave you. Know what they say back home? "Raise hogs, 'cause then you can eat them"

Movie Connections:

References Rocco e i suoi fratelli (1960)

the way families are

The Way We Laughed works best as a study of familial obligation. The assumptions that "Blood" result in, the mendacity that can occur only within the structure of brotherly (sisterly/fatherly, etc.) expectation, and the assumption (or non-assumption) of responsibilities that either lie in the character, or despite the character. There's some good stuff about class urban/mainland prejudice included in the film, and some comments about the nature of intelligence. All told via a narrative structure that I find particularly pleasing. By skipping from year to year, we see growth and change, but there's a certain amount of work that we need to do to fill in the intervening spaces. This film makes that work worth it, although near the end I found myself wondering how long it would go on.