Io speriamo che me la cavo

In this truly delightful, if formulaic, Italian film, we get a portrait of an Italian school teacher from the north of Italy who is mistakingly assigned to a grammar school in a town outside of Naples. There he meets all sorts of opposition as an alien invader with the strangest of ideas: respect for kids and a passion for teaching.

The school is called De Amicis, which the locals mispronounce, and is named after Italy's great author of the children's classic CUORE. He starts out his career here by literally dragging all the kids to school. They prefer to work to bring in extra liras or else flirt with the law in black market or other illegal operations. Little by little this Italian Mr. Chips gains the confidence of the kids and their respect, genuinely teaches them, and shows concern for their personal problems.

And what charming kids they are! In fact that charm is part of the film's major flaw: its contrived and relentless use of cuteness, in the selection of the young performers, in the resolution of the plot.

There's the little girl who is always on the teacher's side asking "Can I tell you something intimate and personal?" There's the chubby kid Nicola who must have his periodic brioche (croissant) during the day, the little boy who sleeps in class because he works at night, the poor girl who must care for her infant sibling because dad is always drunk, the delinquent kid who is in trouble with the law. And yet, despite the obviousness, it wins us over.

Paolo Villaggio as the teacher Marco Tullio Sperelli is nothing short of marvelous, but the movie belongs to those sweet-faced kids...who are forced to recite so much obscene and raunchy dialog they would probably never utter in reality.

As a teacher of Italian I have shown this film to high school students and they invariably lap it up. It is good for a discussion of the perennial north-south conflicts in Italy, an issue that the obnoxious thug of a school custodian and the arrogant principal constantly bait the good-intentioned Sperelli with. An interesting aspect of the film missed by American audiences reading subtitles is the humor generated by the difference between the dialect spoken by the locals, including the kids, and the standard language of their teacher from the north. It's a difference that becomes nicely bridged by the end of this improbable but likable movie. The original title IO, SPERIAMO CHE ME LA CAVO means "As for me, let's hope that I survive" and is the final line of bad-boy Raffaele's composition for the teacher who has won him over despite his resistance, because he took the trouble to help his sick mother get to the hospital. It was also the title of the book the film was based on. The American distributor's title CIAO, PROFESSORE is much better. The film was directed by Lina Wertmuller and is much more appealing than her overblown and more famous movies like SWEPT AWAY and SEVEN BEAUTIES.

I saw this film originally in 1999 with with an Italian 101 class. My recollection was that the film told of the tribulations of a bunch of ruffian Italian school kids who are given hope by an idealist teacher (a familiar theme, think "Stand and Deliver", "Teachers", etc.) However, on recently watching it again, I was impressed with how the story is really a very unique social commentary on Northern and Southern Italy in the pre-EU days.

The plights of the South are conveyed in third-grader's essays, showing how children absorb the environment, but retain the innocence that could make it possible for them to turn out all right. As an instructional Italian film, you are bound to be overwhelmed by some of the most colorful phrases imaginable for swearing at people. But they are all delivered by 9-year-olds who, with their creative gestures, can clearly be seen as recordings of their own observations of adults.

This film may not be as socially relevant as it was in 1999, since the Euro and free trade have transformed much of Europe. But with Italy's economic status being regarded as presently unstable, I think this film is worth watching even today. You'll laugh as you are appalled at the same time by the children's view of the world around them. It is a theme that could be applied to the children of any oppressed culture.

A perfect film, probably the best description of a difficult teacher-student interaction in a destitute neighborhood. Intense, sincere, shocking, never a dull moment. Paolo Villaggio is inimitable as the Professor who comes from Northern Italy to a village of Southern Italy with all the ideals of a dedicated teacher, as he finds himself immersed in the poverty and crime stricken city of Corzano. And the kids! these little rascals are just amazing. In my opinion, this is the best movie ever made by Lina Wertmuller, far from her past naive left-wing production. It would be nice that IMDb show its alternate title 'Ciao, Professore' as an option: it took me a while to figure out that the movie I had watched was the same as "Io speriamo che me la cavo".

This movie is a true gem...even with all the swearing it still retains an almost disney like innocence. The Italian children that are in this movie will absolutely amaze you...most north-american style child actors are guilty of either complete lack of talent, or of being hams...not so here.... not to say many of the scene's aren't over the top..they are...but they are done so well, and the comedy and drama handled so deftly you take it all in stride.... This movie is on par with another foreign film called "Children of Heaven"....different subject matter, but same sense of comedy and drama.

This movie is great for those who:

-love Italian culture

-love Italian kids

-love southern Italian dialect

This movie haunted me at movie stores since I became interested in foreign films 4 or 5 years ago. Glaring and obnoxious as its cover is, I finally rented it. All in all a decent comedy.

In my ratings scale, comedies are graded more on their humor than their story line. In the case of this movie, that is a good thing. A weak story of coincidence, a northern italian professor ends up teaching in the chaos that is Italy southern (Napoli).

I loved the movie because I understand italian well enough to not read the satisfactory subtitles and because the kids were luminous compared to the usual fumbling kiddie actors; these ones were adorable and their lines hilarious.

Other notes: There is a lot of vulgarity in this movie, as is typical in the south. The lead, a likeable Paolo Villaggio, plays foil for the wild kids. The story is simple and dismissable. The cinematography is standard, blessed by the wondrous ambient that is the dilapidated South. A normally celebrated Wertmuller seems to have chosen an easy project here. The movie was produced by media mogul Silvio Berlusconi (vaffa!).

Ultimately it's a movie to waste 90 min, but it was enjoyable and will certainly rouse a smile when I see it on the shelves next time.

6/10, JCC