Maraviglioso Boccaccio

Seven girls and three boys escape from Florence during the plague to a villa in the countryside and each day entertain each other telling stories.

Even if you are not familiar with the Decameron, you could enjoy the movie for the beautiful locations. In fact, that's what I liked better, the stories taking place in - so to speak - the original locations.

The film starts in a Florence miraculously turned back to the 14th century and even if the main characters run away from the plague very quickly, the feeling of hopelessness and desperation is quite realistic.

We get to see five stories, mostly sad and tragic and a couple providing comic relief. My favourite was the first, with the beautiful bride coming back from Heaven (metaphorically speaking). Acting varies wildly, with some performances being relatively good and others barely passable. The youngsters telling stories are quite stiff and awkward in their delivery of the lines.

The main issue is the lack of smoothness typical of episodic movies, but it still makes for an interesting viewing.