La terrazza

Commedia all'Italiana had pretty well run its course by the time Ettore Scola made this film but its dark humour, scathing social satire and colourful characters certainly qualify it as typical of that particular genre. One is hardly surprised as the award-winning script is by the redoubtable duo of Age and Scarpelli whilst the cast is headed by three of the greatest male practitioners of Italian comedy, namely Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman and Ugo Tognazzi. The absent Alberto Sordi gets a mention! As a bonus there are beautifully observed portraits of a deranged writer by Jean Louis Trintignant and a depressed pen-pusher by Serge Reggiani. On the distaff side Stefania Sandrelli proves once again that she is more than just a pretty face by picking up a Nastro d'Argento for her performance as Gassman's lover and as Mastroianni's ex-wife the elegant Carla Gravina was recognised at Cannes.

Although not Scola's greatest this is still the work of a master film-maker, is eminently watchable and fully justifies its length. The inexorable passing of time with its painful regrets, the fragility of relationships and the frailties of humankind as depicted here cannot fail to strike a chord and we are furthermore treated to a level of artistry from the principals that belongs to a vanished era.

"During the dinner sequences, it is like operating an ensemble piece on a dime, DP. De Santis adroitly interposes long takes among various characters, discreetly listens to their conversations, or follows the kerfuffles, but there are no Altmanesque flourishes, which can concatenate all the fluid movements into a delectable visual orchestra. Here, Scala is more keen on building the signs of the times than showing off his sleight of hand, and juggling between studio and location shooting, LA TERRAZZA is an oddity that looks old school but attempts to say something au courant (the self-reflection of a society burdened with bureaucracy, commercialism and hypocrisy), therefore, it feels often luxuriate in the inner circles' own woes and melancholia. It is so cruel to see Mastroianni's Luigi the journalist, gets a cold shoulder from a young girl, the erstwhile Italian dreamboat now has been reduced to a gabby uncle figure that is so detached from the younger generation (a metaphor of Italian cinema's glorious days are on the ineluctable wane)."

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Boring???maybe for who doesn't know or understand the Italian situation of the early eighties, and that typical attitude of the left-side radical chic inhabitants of Rome.I do,and I appreciated this movie a Lot.Scola fails so rarely,and this wasn't the case.A great cast made a great movie,probably one of the last successful "Italian comedy" ever.Everything works fine,from the narrative stile of the director,which shows once again how well he can deal with a crowded set,to the script,written as always by himself.Gassman and Satta Flores above all.I wish this movie was more known abroad,24 years are past,but it never lost its taste,still actual and ironic as it should be

Claudia

Horrible sound, horrible photography, horrible screenplay, horrible acting. It seems to be directed with the left foot. Miles and miles away from the masterpieces 'C'eravamo tanto amati' or 'Una giornata particolare'.

Too much ambitious as well as superficial. It tries to represent the moral and political defeat of a generation, but the characters are two-dimensional.

Very uncertain in the choice of style: naturalistic or grotesque? It would have been better to go with the grotesque, because this kind of naturalism is very depressing. Scola used a bunch of actors who have always played anti-naturalistic characters in the glorious years of Italian cinema, so they are poorly utilized.

I'm sure this film will be forgotten over time.

We follow five friends at the same party. A writer, a producer, a director, a politician and a journalist. There they meet new and old flames and quarrel a bit. All are experiencing an intellectual and emotional crisis.

I loved the many subtle symbols in this film. For instance, the young girlfriends; Sergio who is not eating; the crisis of being a leftist ('I'm much more left-wing than you!'); the success of women.

Even better is Scola's mockery with intellectualism. As you sometimes hear at parties people say: 'Mannerism is out of fashion', and you haven't got an clue what the purpose is of this comment. Every character here thinks himself as being witty, except the producer, and it is precisely him who produces a dramatic masterpiece that is praised by the intellectual elite.

Scola portrays disappointments beautifully - it is seen between the lines, as it was as well in Brutti, sporchi e cattivi. So, I highly appreciated this film, but you have to bear in mind it is a film of almost three hours. A perfect film for a rainy Sunday.