Ein kurzer Urlaub

Finally available on DVD. I had been wanting to share this movie with friends for more than 30 years. It has always been on my top 10 list of best movies ever seen.What I remember most are the subtle scenes which communicate so much, the woman wrapping her meat patty from her factory provided lunch in a napkin and slipping it into her purse in order to be able to give it to her son later on. Or after finally going to see a doctor, first making a last-minute detour into a department store to buy new underwear, too embarrassed that the doctor would see her in what she had on. Or at the very end, when the train passes by the billboard with the Mao graffiti on it (the most subtle of political comment). This is a splendid and brilliant movie, exposing the complexity of social circumstance without ever taking the easy way out, or suggesting there is ever an easy answer, in this case just a brief vacation.

This is an amazingly beautiful film. The story of a woman of little means and a horrendous family life who learns much about the world in a sanatorium in the Italian alps. It gives her a brief vacation from a hard life. And understanding. And hope. Truly wonderful. Florinda Bolkan is a great actress ... emoting without emotion. This movie has many levels of plot and story rolled into a single, seemingly simple story. There are many levels of relationships in the movie. Of particular interest is the set of relationships formed between patients from the upper class, the 'paying' patients and those who are in the sanatorium paid for by the national health. The juxtapositions between have and have not, happy and sad, sick and healthy, doctor and patient, hardworking and lazy and many others form the basis of what we see as Clara's learning process and set of life dilemmas.

Hard to find but worth it. Belongs on the top 250 list....but not enough people have seen it to vote.

This is not an adaptation of THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN. The only thing the two works have in common is that they both take place in a sanitarium. It's the story of a woman who has a horrible life of hard work and no appreciation. She takes ill and is sent by the government to a sanitarium where she thrives. Getting sick is the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to her. I found this film extremely moving. Florinda Bolkan gives a great performance of subtle realism. A BRIEF VACATION is a brilliant film, right up there with De Sica's best, and it came late in his career. He directed only one more film afterward. I saw this film a couple of times in the 70s. I still think about scenes from it.

It seems to me that this movie was an adaptation of Thomas Mann " The Magic Mountain " but i see no credit. I just couldn't help but notice the strong comparisons between the book/movie however although i did prefer the book, the movie should be recommended....if you can find it!!.

This is the story of a woman given a respite from her grim life as a devoted wife and mother. She takes her illness in stride and goes off to the mountains to a sanatorium for a cure. While there, she meets people she would never have met otherwise and has time to experience a life other than one of drudgery and selfless devotion. She is even given a chance of escape/salvation. Will she take it? Ah, but that would be a spoiler!

This superb movie shows that realism can be moving and gripping. This woman's plight, her decency and her quiet heroism make for one of the best motion pictures ever made. If it could be released on video or DVD, I'm sure it would do well. Let's hope the owner of the rights to this movie soon figures this out.