User reviews

Ornella Muti still is a gorgeous woman. She stands the passing of time quite impressively --sort of like Sophia Loren- but something went awry here: her left eye-- Is that the consequence of a bad facelift? Her eyes were tops, among the most beautiful eyes one has ever seen on the screen. Not any more, I'm afraid. Could it be a bad make up job? I don't know.

Let's better analyze this film where she's the protagonist. We are in the sixties, when women's role was still "The perfect mother and housewife", with all the prerequisites men demanded at the time. There was a saying that went something like this: "A Wife must be a perfect housekeeper, a perfect mother, a perfect cook and a perfect whore in the bedroom". Not bad at all for the male ego, uh? and of course, thanks to the religious contention women followed this path cattle-like without even whispering a complain.

This woman does complain, though, but with no apparent results whatsoever, which makes the thing even more humiliating. The years go by, this couple have 6 children that we see growing throughout the movie --it's quite a long movie-- and all the while she cooks, cleans the house, makes up the beds, takes care of the children that drive her crazy without a single minute of respite --is she a brainless masochist?-- and at one Christmas she receives as a surprise gift from her husband an old fashion purse --a design for a matronly and much older woman-- a stingy string of pearls and... a cooking receipt book...

This husband of hers is never at home, always busy with his never ending work in places like Milan or Tokio or whatever, and when he's not working he goes out hunting. When he's at home his requisites are steel hard with her and the children. The table must be set when he arrives, the children silent when he reads the paper, etc. All those years she spends holding back her complains to be a good mother and wife because she's not suppose to make scenes, until one day she discovers that her dear husband has a mistress and two illegitimate children with another woman.

At that point is the only time she gets a guts reaction an is able to throw him out, 'Right now!' as she angrily says. More time goes by, her children are already adults and some of them with their own children, and this poor suffering mother and disillusioned wife has taken to religion as her sole consolation.

End of movie.

Not a particularly nice character for nowadays philosophy of life I'd say. Not a particularly interesting movie either, being the story quite old fashion and not enlightening in any particular way.

Correct from the technical point of view, adequate actors and very little else.

This is a strange movie, not one male character is likable! The father is over the top mean to everyone and the son is much the same and bosses his sisters around..another man attempts a rape.. maybe there is nothing new here as there have been many movies similar.. however the extent of the emotional cruelty displayed by the men is unsettling and unbelievable.. Giorgi (director) tries to make us all feel sorry for the women in this movie but somehow it actually works against her by pushing it too far. the little 'Nina' (first 30mins) is however the best little actress I've seen in a long time - especially note her consoling her mum in the bedroom when Muti gives her the drawings.

as a side note: the grandparents from both sides are less than average actors. two of them in fact look straight at the camera in 3 different scenes. the rest of the cast is quite good.

verdict.. rent it, don't buy it.