Anna Karina in Bread and Chocolate (1973)

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Bread and Chocolate (1973), a.k.a. Pane e cioccolata, is an excellent Italian comedy about an Italian immigrant to Switzerland (Nino Manfredi) who wants to make it big, and bring his family to Switzerland. He is a sort of everyman, but with the world’s worst luck. He strikes out at everything he tries, from landing a full-time job as a waiter, to chicken plucking. He is a gentle soul, but not a classy as the company he would like to keep, yet too sophisticated and ambitious to return to poverty in Italy. There is a little slapstick, a lot of humorous situations, and you care deeply about the character before the film is over.

The film won a host of international awards. The spoken language is mostly Italian, with a little German, Greek, and god knows what else thrown in. Most of the Italian is translated into English subtitles. The transfer is mostly overexposed, but despite these faults, I enjoyed the film very much. C+

Nudity Report: Two women show breasts, in what are totally gratuitous nude scenes. The first is Nelide Giammarco, who is a hooker sunbathing in the home of a wealthy industrialist whom Manfredi nearly lands a job with. The second is an unidentified blonde who is sunbathing at the chicken ranch.

IMDB Summary: 7.8 of 10.


Written by: Tuna …courtesy of Scoopy.net