One evening, around 15 years ago (or maybe more), on our national television station, there was broadcast a movie that, I can say without any doubt, has "marked me for life". I was around 11 at that time. I would have loved to see that movie again, a lot of times, since then... but, unfortunately, I couldn't remember neither its title, nor its plot or characters, not even the language of the movie. There were only a few things that have remained clearly in my mind: the fact that almost the entire movie is about a fancy dinner held in the honor of an old lady, the fact that one of the guests sticks his tongue out at this lady and the fact that, at the end of the movie, there is a chaotic scene shot in a forest. Oh... and also the fact that this lady looks at her guests using a pair of elegant binoculars.
With the help of a friend of mine - and I would like to thank him again this way - I have found that movie! It is LUNGA VITA ALLA SIGNORA! (LONG LIVE THE LADY!). In my opinion, it is a masterpiece. It is a great, excellent, magnificent, marvelous, fantastic, fascinating, superb movie! (I can't find at this time more superlatives, as I would have used them here, too!) The movie is perfect, from all points of view. It is mainly a comedy, but it has some dramatic elements also... and maybe a few horror ones, too. In fact, the movie is so perfect that it manages to convert little things like not having a lighter with you, at a given time, into a real drama. Also, the contrast between two worlds - the rich and the poor - is magnificently and uniquely achieved, mostly via visual means rather than dialogue, which is reduced to a minimum.
If, until now, somebody had asked me what my favorite movie was, I wouldn't have known what to say, as I had more than one favorite. Now, this "dilemma" is over, as I've got a clear answer: my favorite movie of all times is, indeed, LUNGA VITA ALLA SIGNORA!
