Mondo candido

Based loosely on Voltaire's satirical novella Candide:Optimism, this wild Italian sex comedy is a film like no other. It is funny, thought provoking, and somewhat Felliniesque in its circus like atmosphere/scenes. This must be one of the most truly interesting silly films in all of the world. It's silly, yes, but also quite brilliant in my estimation. Definitely well worth watching for most fans of European film.

Voltaire's original work which today is considered his greatest masterwork was essentially an attack at the passivity inspired by Leibniz's philosophy of optimism. Like other philosophers of the day, Candide also contends with the problem of evil. Though Voltaire's approach to this and many other subjects was far from typical and certainly far more humorous than most. Voltaire is an extremely important historical figure due to his fearlessness in challenging ideas and authorities of all kinds. He was an outspoken and controversial figure who fought for civil liberties, freedom of speech and freedom of religion, as well as against censorship. In much of his work, through both directness and humor Voltaire ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies and philosophers alike. Voltaire was in fact among the world's first ever authors to become famous and commercially successful internationally. It is fairly widely believed that Voltaire did not hold to an optimistic, nor to a pessimistic view, but rather to a belief that we must act or work to help create the world around us. Some have summed up this practical belief noted in Candide's conclusion as "We Must Cultivate Our Garden.". 8/10.