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Pane e tulipani (2000)

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26 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
A movie like only a European can make it., 9 November 2004

Author: Philip Van der Veken from Tessenderlo, Belgium

Pane e tulipani or Bread and Tulips is a wonderful Italian movie. The story is told in a way only a European can, you would never find such a movie in Hollywood. There are no special effects, no gadgets, no fast cars, ... nothing you would probably find in it if this was a Hollywood production. The characters are the real stars in this movie, together with all the streets and canals of Venice.

It's about a middle aged, neglected housewife and mother who is left behind by her family on a bus trip. Her family doesn't even notice she's missing until two hours later. She decides to hitch-hike home and she meets different people. To one of them she says that she has never been to Venice, but that she really would like to see it. The man suggests to bring her to Venice instead of driving her home and so her adventure begins. She meets some interesting people and in one way or another she always influences their lives. But not only their lives change, her life is influenced by it as well.

I guess this must sound incredibly boring to some people, but it really isn't. I enjoyed the movie - which can be seen as a modern fairy tale or as a real story - a lot. I guess it all depends from the viewer. Do you believe finding real love, when it's not supposed to happen to you, could actually happen? Personally I do, but I'm a real optimist, so perhaps that's why I liked it so much. It might also be because it gives a very optimistic view towards life.

I guess the real strength of this movie lies in the fact that even after the movie has ended, you are still thinking about it. The story is simple, very universal, but also subtle and deep.

I could talk for hours about this movie, but I guess you'll have to see it for yourself. My advice to everybody, but especially to the people who love Italy as much as I do: Sit down, relax and enjoy. I give it a 8.5/10.

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24 out of 27 people found the following comment useful :-
Sweet, funny -- a happy film, 10 June 2002

Author: Jeff Frane from Portland, Oregon

My goodness there are some cranky "reviewers" here. This Italian film is sweet and hopeful -- does everything need to be "realistic"? I mean, this isn't a documentary, it's a story! Charming acting, especially by the lead.

Excellent filming and editing, and what better place than Venice to shoot a movie?

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18 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Lost in Venice, 24 April 2005

Author: jotix100 from New York

Silvio Soldini's delightful comedy was a surprise when we first saw it in its original release. On second viewing recently, "Pane e Tulipani" looks still fresh. This is a film that seems to be telling us never be afraid to take a stand and to experiment. The film has the feeling of a travelogue because they way it starts, but in fact, it's more like a voyage of discovery.

When the film opens we see the Italian tour group at one of the ancient ruins in their country. As the trip continue, our eyes are set on the gorgeous Rosalba, the middle age woman who is among the passengers with her husband and two children. Soon we watch as the bus departing without Rosalba, who is late for it. She can't believe her eyes! The nerve of the husband and children! How dare them! Thus begins a trip in which Rosalba will discover what a sham her married life is. Instead of going home to Pescara, she decides to go to Venice. After all, she's never been there and on a whim she sets for the ancient city on the Adriatic. The next train will be the following day. She decides to play tourist.

When she goes to the Marco Polo restaurant, she meets the sad waiter, Fernando Girasoli. She has to do with a cold supper since the cook has been taken ill. This encounter proves to be the happiest thing that has ever happened to Rosalba. When she misses the train the following day, she goes back to the restaurant to eat. Since she doesn't have enough money, she asks Fernando if he knows of a place she can stay for the amount of money she still has. Fernando, in a kind gesture, lets her stay at his small apartment for the night.

Venice, alas, has played a trick on Rosalba. Suddenly she feels liberated from the doldrums of her married life. She is free to do what she pleases, whenever she wants, and calls home and tells them she is taking a vacation, after the kind Fermo, at the flower shop, has given her a job.

The arrival of Rosalba plays heavily on Fernando. He is a mysterious man who leads us into believing he is trying to end his life by committing suicide. Rosalba discovers things about Fernando, who, at the same time, is learning things about her. We watch as these two become closer. But suddenly, when the detective Rosalba's husband has sent to look for her, finds her, she goes home, resigned to go back to being a housewife to a husband that cheats on her and mother to children that don't appreciate her. That is, until she gets the pictures developed from all the key moments of her adventure, especially of her happy stay in Venice. We know what she will do next!

Mr. Soldini's film is greatly enhanced by Licia Maghetta, the intelligent actress portraying the middle aged wife. Ms. Maghetta wins us over because we realize she needs something else in her life. Bruno Ganz, a wonderful and resourceful actor, makes the most out of the taciturn Fernando. The film is worth seeing just to watch these two actors interact with one another. The rest of the cast is good.

This is a film that will warm one's heart.

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Classic Comedy ..., 27 August 2004

Author: Rahul Guha from US

What comes into mind when we say "classic"? Well, it has to be universal and deep and yet simple. It should appeal beyond the "critics" and reach the critical mass. I can't say if "Bread and Tulips" can be termed as a Classic already ... but it does satisfy all three above mentioned conditions. It is simply put, very universal yet subtle and deep. It builds intriguing moments... that viewer keeps even after the movie ends. How real or logical or practical the story is or is it a fairy tale?

Well, how many times in real life we act logical? The fact that human being is NOT a logical creature and they act per their impulse and dream for their dreams to come true ... this can be categorized as a quite close thing that may happen to someone. Or at least someone may not be disappointed if that happens to her/him. In short, its not a everyday incident. But YES ... it can happen and well, bits and pieces DO happen in life.

Overall it gives a tremendously optimistic view towards life ... I would argue a real inspiring outcome. It portrays a middle aged woman getting close to her real life and real likings when circumstance puts her away from the typical and logical setting in her family. She finds her confidence back, finds friends, finds likings and music ... and finally yes, finds her love. Its a transformation that she goes through ... and none of which is quite "aceptable" or "normal" in our civilized society. But even then, she had to go out of defined way to get that. In that process, this movie creates great shots and moments that builds the environment and confirms it to a classic comedy. Worth watching ... and worth owning.

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
I fell in love again with Italy and European mature-woman idolatry., 13 October 2001
Author: John DeSando (jdesando@columbus.rr.com) from Columbus, Ohio

Recently Charlotte Rampling in `Under the Sand' and Tilda Swinton in `The Deep End' remind us that European cinema has long portrayed middle-age women as desirable in a way immature American men are unaccustomed, so conditioned are we to a youth culture that adores naughty teenage waifs and jaded 20-somethings.

Now the Italian `Bread and Tulips' introduces us to the attractive Licia Maglietta as the middle-aged housewife refugee finding love and friendship in Venice. Although the setup of this film left me fidgeting for action, when I saw her liberated from her family and slowly begin her renewal, I fell in love again with Italy and European mature-woman idolatry. I don't know if it's the ample breasts, knowing smiles, or willingness to sass that gets my attention, or maybe all of the above. I do know 2 hours of these savvy women are far more satisfying than any days with Julia Roberts or Kirsten Dunst.

Let me not ignore the true man in this tale: Bruno Ganz, the angel from `Wings of Desire,' plays brooding waiter Fernando, ready at any moment to hang himself until Rosealba renews his love of love and epic verse. Ganz is a marvel of understated acting, a perfect companion to the romantic Rosealba.

The inevitable comparison between director Silvio Soldini and Woody Allen, with their genial sense of city and women, is appropriate, especially considering the similarity between Soldini's romantic Venice and Allen's lyrical Paris in `Everyone Says I Love You.'

`Bread and Tulips' received several David Di Donatello Awards, the Italian version of the Oscars, for best picture, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, director, and three others. To see Rosealba go from frumpy mom to bohemian accordion and tulip player is worth wading through a boring Wayne Knight, wanabee plumber cum detective or over the top, philandering, bourgeois bathroom fixtures magnate husband. Some of this stuff is downright dull slapstick, a little like the sophomoric stumbling of `Life is Beautiful,' but when Rosealba smiles, it's very good.

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Quick review, 2 December 2003
Author: lauren_barker

In Pane e tulipani (Bread and Tulips), a bored, middle-aged housewife is on vacation with her two disaffected teenage sons and her tyrannical, cheating husband. After a mishap in a restroom bathroom, Rosalba (Licia Maglietta) is left behind by the tour bus with her family not even noticing her absence. Impulsively, Rosalba hitchhikes to Venice. The formula in the film for a newfound awakening of the spirit is simple if somewhat unlikely. First, find a spare room in the apartment of an eloquently speaking, if somewhat suicidal, Icelandic waiter (Bruno Ganz). Secondly, replace tacky touristy outfit with a brand new wardrobe of pretty bohemian dresses. Next, befriend your questionably legitimate `holistic beautician and masseuse' neighbor (Marina Massironi). After, find a satisfying job working for an anarchic florist (Felice Andreasi). Also, confront the plumber/ amateur detective (Guiseppe Battiston) your husband has hired to track you down. Finally, aid your new band of quirky friends along the path of self discovery while doing so yourself. The basic storyline of Bread and Tulips is not an especially original one, but the film is exceptional in its surprising delicacy in which it handles the story. The humor is sophisticated and the romantic story is never overly sweet. This movie is worth seeing not because it has some deep, life changing message. It is simply a romantic comedy made to entertain, but it is romantic comedy at its best. It is handled very differently than it would have been if it had been made in Hollywood, from the subtle sexiest of Licia Maglietta's character to the total lack of sexual references between the main romantic couple. The characters are unrealistic but not to the point of being ridiculous. The ending is happy without being disgustingly sentimental. Bread and Tulips was directed by Silvio Soldini who also co-wrote it with Doriana Leondeff. It won nine David di Donatello Awards, the Italian Oscar equivalent, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor. This film is a refreshing new look at a clichéd idea.

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7 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
The Italian "Bagdad Café" !, 26 April 2005

Author: Jonesy Speer from France

Pané e Tulipani is both very atypical and simple : a woman about 40 years old is on a package holiday with her husband and sons when the bus forgets her in a service station. As she feels angry and disappointed, she decides to go back home on her own. As she hitches to Pescara, the town where she lives, she eventually takes the road to Venice. And here starts her story... She discovers happiness, joy, pleasure again. She realizes that the life she leaded until now was not the one she deserved. This is not a sentimental love story ; this is a "road-movie" full of hilarious events, fine humor, laughable situations which follow naturally. A film about the beauty of life, friendship, love and discovering.

Furthermore, the soundtrack is perfect ; it makes you think of the french "Amelie Poulain" by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (music by Yann Tiersen). And last but not least, The characters are very touching. Pané e tulipani is wonderfully performed by the incredible Bruno Ganz, the charming Licia Maglietta and the funny Giuseppe Battiston and Marina Massironi.

A film that you might look at more than once ; this is truly the Italian Bagdad Café.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Wonderful Performance by Licia Maglietta, 20 July 2002

Author: jhclues from Salem, Oregon

This film is a journey of discovery and self-awareness, a story about life and love and finding the true happiness that comes from sharing it all `with' someone, rather than merely settling for sharing `in' someone else's. Mostly, though, `Bread and Tulips,' directed by Silvio Soldini, is about finding the kind of love that enfolds you, lifts you up and boldly takes you with it, in place of the kind that simply allows you to catch hold and follow along. It's about possibilities; of realizing the fulfillment of the promise instead of forever existing in the shadow of the potential, of recognizing what can be and embracing it once it's found-- a consideration that love in the purest sense does exist, and often in the least likely of places. It's just a matter of opening the heart, and finding it.

Rosalba Barletta (Licia Maglietta) is content with her life, or so it would seem; she's a housewife with two sons-- aged sixteen and eighteen-- and a husband, Mimmo (Antonio Catania), who sells bathroom fixtures. Her contentment, though, is perhaps due to the fact that she's never considered the possibility of anything being otherwise. But that changes when, while on vacation with the family, she is inadvertently left behind at a stop. She watches the tour bus pull away and suddenly realizes that her husband and boys haven't even missed her.

She decides to hitchhike home, but on the way, she decides to take a vacation of her own first. One of her rides is headed to Venice, a city to which she has never been but always wanted to go, and so she makes that her destination. And her vacation soon becomes more than that; it becomes an experience that opens up a whole new perspective on life to her, an adventure that reawakens her senses and fills her with an appreciation of life and what love really is. There is bad with the good, however, as it also makes her a woman torn between her old life with the family she loves but who take her for granted, and a new life, in which real love and personal fulfillment is possible. Whatever she decides, one thing is certain: This is one vacation Rosalba is never going to forget.

Director Soldini has crafted and delivered an engaging and thoroughly involving and thoughtful film that grabs hold of the viewer and sweeps you along with it. It's funny, romantic and poignant, with a pure joy for life at it's heart; a romantic film in every sense of the word. Soldini tells Rosalba's story in a way that makes you more than a mere observer, but one who is sharing her life and all that she is feeling. Rosalba is someone you care about, and it's because Soldini has taken great care in attempting to establish that necessary connection between his character and the audience-- and he succeeds. He sets a perfect pace, in that Rosalba's growth and awareness is gradual, the product of subtle exploration rather than epiphany, which makes all that transpires entirely credible. And in the same way, it serves the credibility of the other characters, as well. It's a very grounded presentation that gives the sense of everything happening in real time; Soldini never allows the story to get ahead of itself, and that's part of the bond he's created that allows the audience to keep living it rather than just watching.

The insightful screenplay by Soldini and Doriana Leondeff makes for an engaging film to begin with, but without question, what really sells it is the wonderful performance by Licia Maglietta as Rosalba. Honest and earthy, her portrayal is entirely convincing and believable; she opens up her character and lets you in, where you discover an inner beauty that is vibrant and endearing. And you realize how much Rosalba has to give, and how much she wants to give-- and it's a touching experience; this is a woman who receives by giving, and it's gratifying to encounter that kind of charity of soul, and moreover, to see it rewarded in kind. Most importantly, Maglietta's performance inspires a greater understanding of the human condition; by experiencing the rewards of discovering who Rosalba really is, one may be inclined thereafter to look deeper into others, to reflect upon the nature of those perhaps taken for granted for too long. And the fact that such an impact can be made through a character in a film attests to the talent and ability of Maglietta, who-- something of a cross between Sophia Loren and Giulietta Masina-- has an absorbing screen presence, and plays Rosalba so beautifully.

Bruno Ganz also gives a memorable performance as Fernando Girasoli, the man who befriends Rosalba in Venice. His portrayal is so subtle and understated, and so giving, in that he allows the focus to remain on Rosalba at all times, that the full impact of his character kind of sneaks up on you. The initial meeting between Rosalba and Fernando is so indifferent that he at first appears to be nothing more than a peripheral character in the drama. And it demonstrates how wonderfully Soldini and his actors have integrated the characters with the story to make it play out in such real terms. It's an affecting performance by Ganz, who sparks an unlikely chemistry with Maglietta that works so well on the screen.

Also turning in performances worthy of mention are Marina Massironi, as Rosalba's friend, Grazia, the holistic beautician/masseuse; and Giuseppe Battiston, as Costantino, the hapless plumber/detective.

The supporting cast includes Felice Andreasi (Fermo), Tiziano Cucchiarelli (Nic), Matteo Febo (Salvo), Tatiana Lepore (Adele) and Vitalba Andrea (Ketty). Highly entertaining and thoroughly involving on a very personal level, `Bread and Tulips' is a film that provides an unforgettable emotional experience; one that promotes a deeper understanding of human nature by allowing you to get outside of yourself, which ultimately affords a fresh perspective on life and the way we live it. 9/10.

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6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
I loved this Italian reality middle aged Cinderella movie., 24 February 2004
Author: Ioreth from Seattle, USA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Possible spoilers. An unappreciated, middle aged Italian housewife gets nudged into a vacation where she searches for beauty, music, and herself. This is a darkly cheerful movie with amusing, sympathetic characters. The story may be more fractured fairy tales (she even loses her shoe in proper Cinderella style) than reality in the convenient way some things work out, and it can be a challenge to figure out which scenes are dreams and which aren't, but that adds to the fun. It has beautiful scenery, interesting side plots, and funny, flawed characters. The movie may resonate more with women, but my husband and brother-in-law found it hilarious, also. Since we don't speak Italian, we watched it several times to at first read and understand what was going on, and then to enjoy the actors' comic timing and body language.

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8 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
An Italian "Educating Rita", 29 December 2002

Author: rps-2 from Bracebridge Ont

Maybe you have to be Italian to really understand. But this is a delightfully funny picture with moments of tenderness and pathos, a quintessentially Italian approach to the bored housewife story. It's also a wonderful view of Venice from an Italian perspective. It's a bit of a fantasy, a bit of a fem-flick, a bit of a travelogue. I've been to Italy several times. This movie makes me want to go back again. Bravissimo!

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