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By and large, this film is a truly remarkable achievement. It is a grounded portrait of postwar Italian life, and an unflinching look at the widespread acceptance of blatant misogyny at the time - one which is all-too-easily forgotten today, as many would like to believe a variation of "the West has always been enlightened".

Delia's travails and suffering are often stomach-churning, yet they form a strong, gradual character arc - its culmination adding a human dimension to the real-world political drama which otherwise stays in the background of the story. The script is generally very good at developing its supporting characters as well - from Delia's three children, to her horrifically abusive yet all-too-believable husband Ivano and his bedridden father - down to her neighbours and the family of her daughter's wealthy suitor. Paola Cortellesi has a real gift for taking kitchen-table scenes and making them captivating.

There is only one flaw I would have to point out with the script - and it's the subplot with the Black American soldier at a nearby checkpoint. While it certainly comes from the right place, the way it's handled is surprisingly clumsy and contrived throughout - from the implausibly easy and lucky introduction, to her sudden loss of caution in a way you would have expected her to foresee, and down to the resolution which seems to suddenly overlook the language barrier that defined their interactions up until then. It speaks A LOT to the quality of this film that I still easily consider it one of the year's best in spite of the above.

This is Cortellesi's first movie as a director, and I cannot wait to see the next one!

I can hardly find any faults in this movie; it drags you into post-war Rome from the very first scenes, putting the black and white to good use.

Acting is top notch starting from Cortellesi herself, to Mastandrea's portrayal of an abusive husband, to Colangeli as the obnoxious grandfather.

A special mention goes to Vergano as the daughter - she is much more expressive than many botoxed Hollywood stars, and can speak volumes with her eyes.

There are a few laughs - sometimes bitter ones - even if this is far from being a comedy; the story is well written and the dialogues are crisp.

I didn't foresee the twist at the end of the movie, even if Cortellesi dropped plenty of hints, so I was pleasantly surprised.

I highly, highly recommend this movie. Brava Paola!

Very interesting debut: a mix of comedy (one-liners), drama (domestic violence), romance (love and friendship). The correct ingredients for a wonderful result. Rome in black & white appears too be a little "didactic", like a good "copy" of old times (just after the 2WW), but pleasant and very faithful to the original one. Delia is a woman like many others, in a common enough situation in those days. The final twist, which slowly makes its way, amazes and exalts the viewer. A spontaneous applause rose at the end of the movie, in a suburban cinema, in Rome. The same Rome that Paola Cortellesi makes us regret.

Paola Cortellesi is extremely talented, both as an actress and a comedian. Now we can also add directing to her resume. This movie has issues, but the undeniable truth is that it's very lovable. The main character is very sympathetic, simple on a psychological level but nonetheless believable. The other standout of the movie is Emanuela Fanelli, who could probably improve every movie she's in at this point. The movie succeeds in creating a lot of tension. There's a specific control of space (the main character moving through the same places every day) that adds a sense of intimacy, of smallness of the world, and at the same time of claustrophobia when Delia (the protagonist) feels trapped in it. An excellent control of tension. Conflicts that would seem small actually appear big and important because of it. The way things all of a sudden become surreal and movie-like help us enter the mind of the character. The best scene in the movie incorporates a weird mix of lighting, camera, choreography and anachronistic in a weird creepy way that I never really see in Italian cinema these days. I would call this movie quirky, nostalgic and heartfelt. An impressive directorial feat.

Now the issues: the concept of the story is not bad, but it's also a bit superficial in tying the personal with the political. The character of the young son-in-law takes a weird behavioral shift that doesn't feel natural. The movie can't fully decide whether to be psychological (where the reality is a grotesque reflection of Delia's psyche) or realistic (where other non-main characters, even villains, actually have depth and believability). The Vinicio Marchioni character is pointless and honestly feels like a mere plot device, a misdirect. There's a moment where two characters who speak different languages all of a sudden understand each other for no reason other than to move the plot. Also the bait-n-switch at the end is weird for a number of reasons, and goes in an unforeseeable direction that feels more like Cortellesi preaching at the audience directly than anything character related. And lastly, the music: some songs worked, but the choice to incorporate music with various degrees of anachronism makes the movie feel fake, like we're not actually watching a period piece but a director toying with an aesthetic to make a point. And that undermines the sincerity of the whole thing.

That's it, that's all I have to say. Movie is good, it's fun, it's tense, it's sad, it's creepy. An outlier in the current Italian cinema landscape.

I will start by saying that I really love Paola Cortellesi, she is one of the finest Italian actresses of these times, capable of offering the greatest laughs and the most bitter tears, thanks to her versatile acting skills.

This happens throughout this film too. She is Delia, a middle-aged woman who lives with her husband, three children and her nasty father-in-law in terribly harsh conditions. She struggles to make ends meet and to sustain her family, while suffering domestic abuse and dreaming of a past love. When her daughter gets engaged to the son of the local café owner, she senses that her she risks embarking in a life of strain and violence, just like hers.

I loved the performances in this film: Paola Cortellesi, Vittorio Mastandrea (one of my favourite actors), Giorgio Colangeli and Emanuela Fanelli. The use of black and white was clever, as it gives the film a poetic look. I also appreciated the bittersweet scenes: tragedy mixed with comedy.

Nevertheless I wouldn't call this a masterpiece as I thought the storyline was a bit forced, especially with the final surprising end, which seems a bit too detached from the rest of the film...