In the Eighteenth Century, the "Traveling Company of Scenic Arts" composed by Tyrant (Toni Ucci), Lady Leonarde (Lauretta Masiero), Serafina (Ornella Muti), Isabella (Emmanuelle Béart), Leandre (Massimo Wertmüller), Zerbina (Tosca D'Aquino), Matamore (Jean-François Perrier) and Pulcinella (Massimo Troisi) gets lost in the territory of Gascogne while traveling to Paris due to the bad weather. They see a castle and ask to the servant Pietro (Ciccio Ingrassia) to spend the night in the spot expecting to have a comfortable lodging. Sooner they learn that the destroyed castle belongs to the ruined nobleman Jean Luc Henry Camille, the Baron of Sigognac (Vincent Perez). Pietro asks the company to take Sigognac with them to Paris since the father of King Luis XIII had been saved by the baron's father Henrique de Navarra and Luis XIII would certainly reward Sigognac in gratitude. He also secretly gives one hundred gold coins to Pulcinella to serve Sigognac. Along their journey, Sigognac finds love with Serafina and Isabella and learns to love his new friends and the world of theater.
"Il Viaggio di Capitan Fracassa" is the most adorable tribute of the cinema to the theater world. Twenty years ago, when I saw this film for the first time, I felt in love for this gem that has two of the most beautiful European actresses, Ornella Muti and Emmanuelle Béart, in the top of their shapes; Vincent Perez in his best role; Massimo Troisi hilarious; and a magnificent European cast. One of the best and most touching moments is when each actor and actress dreams on what they would do in Paris after meeting Luis XIII. The funniest is certainly when the troupe is waiting for their meal in the tavern. My only negative remark is that Emmanuelle Béart, Vincent Perez and Jean-François Perrier are awfully dubbed in Italian. My vote is ten.
P.S.: I had this film on VHS and last week I bought the shameful DVD released by the Brazilian Distributor Lume Films. The image seems to be a copy of VHS and I was not able to see the last chapters in my Pioneer DVD Player. Only the Samsung DVD player was able to read the last five chapters.
Title (Brazil): "A Viagem do Capitão Tornado" ("The Journey of Captain Tornado")
