MARRIAGE - ITALIAN STYLE

Italy, 1964, 102 minutes, Colour.
Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni.
Directed by Vittorio De Sica.

Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren had appeared together in Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. They were also to appear together in A Special Day and Blood Feud.

This film was based on a play Filumena Marturano by Eduardo De Filippo. De Filippo had made a film of his play in 1951 starring with his wife.

This film was directed by veteran Vittoria De Sica who had made such an impact with neo-realism after World War Two, with Bicycle Thieves, Shoeshine, Miracle in Milan. De Sica also had a strong career as an actor. He also won an Oscar for best film for The Garden of the Finzi- Contini in 1971.

This is a very Neapolitan film. Marcello Mastroianni portrays a merchant who during World War Two meets a seventeen-year-old girl in a brothel. Later they meet again, she becomes his mistress for twenty-three years and administers his business while bearing three children. After this time, he decides to marry his young secretary – which spurs Filumena into action, revealing the three children to him (but not saying which are his) and finally getting him to marry her again.

The film was nominated for best foreign language film of 1964 as was Sophia Loren for best actress. She had won the Oscar three years earlier for Two Women, also directed by Vittorio De Sica.

1. Comment on the irony of the title. How Italian was the film? Did it seem authentically Italian? Did that add to its impact?

2. Comment on the structure of the film and its effectiveness. The basic narrative and then the memories of Domenico and Filumena? How did this affect audience appreciation of the two principal characters? And of the issue of the film?

3. Were you taken in originally by Filumena? Why? Were you surprised at the truth? Why did she deceive Don Domenico? Was this the only way?

4. At the conclusion of the film could you tell whose version of the past was correct? Was Domenico's truer or Filumena's? Why? Why were they both incomplete views?

5. Consider Domenico's view. What kind of a man was he in himself? His vanity? His initial response to Filumena? His use of her? His leaving her? His relationship with his mother and introducing Filumena to her? His behaviour at the funeral? How much of a cad was he? Why did he want to re-marry? Consider the examples of his taking Filumena to the races, and establishing her in the flat etc? Did he love her at all? what was the nature of his relationship to her? Why?

6. Consider Filumena's view. What kind of a person was she in herself? What character did Sophia Loren try to portray? Why did she become a prostitute? Her fear and then her response to Domenico? Her meeting him again in the bus? Why was she so happy at having the house, at the races? Why did she not tell him about the children? What kind of business-woman was she? How well did she manage? How did the film show this convincingly? Why did she take so much money from Domenico? Why did she want to marry him finally? just for his name? For love? (His son and the date on the note)?

7. Consider the reaction of each of them to the marriage who injured whom? Why?

8. What was the effect on Filumena on seeing that she had committed fraud? Did she give up? Why?

9. Why did she taunt Domenico with the fact that one of the sons was his? Was it her only way to get his name and his money? His love? What were the boys like in themselves? Consider them at their work, their discussion before they met their mother, and their comments on her?

10. Could you understand Domenico's reaction to knowing that one of the boys was his? How did it illustrate his selfishness?

11. How convincing was Domenico's search for the truth and his realisation that he loved Filumena? Would the marriage be a success?

12. Comment on the roles of Alfredo and Rosalia in the film? What did they add to the story? the human feeling, the comedy?

13. How successful a comedy was this? A satire?

14. Even though the style was comic, how serious? the stars, their impact in Italy? to understand Italians and their style?