Mid-August Lunch

Writer/director Gianni Di Gregorio is also the star of this delightful little film about loneliness, tolerance, and seeing the silver lining. The film glows with a richness of spirit that is very satisfying and humorous and uplifting. Apparently Pranzo di Ferragosto (or Feast of Assumption) is that holiday in mid august when all Italians head for the shore so get away from the heat. Gianni lives in Rome with his very elderly and demanding mother (Valeria De Franciscis), broke, with mounting tabs at the grocers and the winery, but he prides himself in his culinary skills with which he keeps his mother satisfied. He spends his days whopping and sipping wine with his old friend Viking (Luigi Marchetti). When his friend and condo manager Alfonso (Alfonso Santagata) pays a visit to remind Gianni how he is behind in his rent and obligations for the condo, Gianni is depressed but Alfonso has a plan: take care of his mother (Marina Cacciotti) during the weekend of Pranzo di Ferragosto and Gianni's debts will be forgiven. Gianni agrees as does his mother, but when Alfonso arrives with his mother in tow he also brings his aunt (Maria Cali) who also needs a place to stay in Alfonso's absence. The local doctor (Marcello Ottolenghi) pays a house call to check on Gianni and his mother and in passing asks Gianni to look after HIS mother (Grazia Cesarini Sforza), too. This leaves Gianni with a full house, a shared television, minimal beds, but they all make do and with the help of his old friend Viking the two to entertain the three old ladies. They cook a fine mid-August meal and the old lades dress up and dance, having more fun than they have had since their youth.

It is a slight story but one told with a warmth and compassion that is endearing to experience. For light but tender entertainment this film is a major winner!

Grady Harp

I loved this movie! It's a little movie that totally captivated me. It's the story of a middle-aged unmarried man who lives in Rome with his mother. Money is obviously tight but they seem to live a very nice life. Unfortunately, the condominium bills keep piling up. So when the head of the condominium offers to forgive the expenses in return for his caring for the condo head's mother for 2 days (over Ferragosto), he agrees. When the mother shows up, an aunt also comes - obviously a packaged deal. Through another act of fate, another elderly woman comes to share the overnight experience. The women are wonderful as is the main actor (Gianni DiGregorio) - he is also the writer and director. He was at the showing I attended and shared some interesting info. These women are not actors. One is his aunt and one is a family friend. He found the other two at a home for the elderly. Said he interviewed 100 women and had trouble deciding because so many were so wonderful. The crew was exhausted at the end of the day - these women were on a roll - and all were over 90 years old. The apartment in which he lived was actually the apartment in which he had lived with his mother. This was a low- budget film which was one of the reasons that he starred in the film, i.e., he couldn't afford to hire a "real" actor. Thank you Gianni for a wonderful movie!

Gianni (Gianni Di Gregorio), who is well into his forties, has no job or income and still lives in his comfortable family home with his ageing mother. She is a capricious but refined woman who requires a lot of attention and even more patience. Gianni offers her those but can barely squeeze a little life of his own in there. When those around him escape from Rome for some fresh countryside air in the mid-summer weekend, he finds himself left behind in the empty city with a motley of elderly ladies.

I suppose many people will amuse themselves wondering if Mr Di Gregorio is playing himself, or at least a little... as the Gianni in the movie is somewhat removed from normal society. He seems to have accepted that he will be taking care of his mother, at the expense of having his own life. This is a rare form of self-sacrifice in our day, and shows, through our own eyes, our expectations of an individual's life. Can you live a full life without a romantic relationship? Can you feel content without being able to provide for yourself (and your family), without perusing some kind of personal development? How far from the ordinary can you be removed and still feel content about your life?

It is not easy. Gianni needs money and yet does not work. Of course if he would work, then who would take care of his mother? Should he be working to be able to pay for a home for her, so that he can start a relationship of his own? Then his mother would be all alone, unhappy and less well taken care of than in the company of her own son. The dilemma of the ageing society laid bare.

When we see the elderly ladies laughing and interacting together, it is almost as if a choice has to be made in society, that either the elderly or the young have to sacrifice themselves for the other. This awkward thought is dispelled later on, at least somewhat, as the characters all find a place for themselves in this unexpected weekend away without leaving. This is a touching and funny film, which should have been released here in May when everyone has one foot at home and the other in a long weekend away. It would have added a nice tie-in with the reality around us.

The cliché of the Italian bachelor living at home with a doting mother who waits on him and prepares his favorite meals is turned on it's head in the delicious Italian treat, "Mid-August Lunch." In this film, unemployed fifty-ish bachelor Gianni (Gianni Di Gregorio) shows respect for his ninety-something mother by taking good care of her and lovingly preparing their meals.

The small family has been living off of credit for some time and is months behind on their maintenance and electric bills for their ancient apartment. The landlord is willing to forgive the dept if they take in his mother so he can get away for the Mid-August holiday. The landlord drops off his mother AND his aunt. And soon the doctor's mother joins the mix. So Gianni must survive the weekend playing good host to four strong-willed shut-ins. What impressed me most was how he never loses his manners but treats these woman with the respect earned by those who have reached a certain age.

This is a film about the joys of entertaining. It illustrates the isolation that comes with aging and our continued need to socialize. There is an Italian saying, "A tavola no s'invecchia," that articulates the theme perfectly, "The passage of time is suspended with experiencing the pleasure of good food, good wine and company."

"Mid-August Lunch" dishes up "slice of life" humor with simple, authentic Italian flavors like those in the perch with potatoes, oregano and rosemary lovingly served at the holiday feast.

Movie Blessings! Jana Segal, Reel Inspiration

To help pay some debts, Gianni, an unemployed, single, middle aged man, agrees to look after four very old women for a night. Antics DO NOT ensue, as you might expect, but friendship food,and joy. The director, Gianni Di Gregorio, wrote it, acted in it, used his own apartment, based it on an incident in his own life, and then and cast the women from hundreds of non-professionals. The result is a unique and brilliant short story of a film. It was pointed out that August 15 is Feast of the Assumption, and that in religious mythology Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory". The old women in this movie are also ascending to heaven without death, and the movie glories in the blessings and quirks of old age. If you love your mother, Italy, or Italian movies – see it!