User reviews

Bread and Tulips (2000)

A feel good movie that is also a good movie. It's beyond just warm and colorful, with scenes of Venice night and day, and beyond just triumphant, with true love winning in more ways than one. It is most of all populated with great characters. Italian leading lady Licia Maglietta is a wonder of naturalistic acting. She is sympathetic of course, but not a cliché. She plays a housewife on a diversion away from her family, and she looks and acts like a housewife. As strong as she is, and as independent, she is also devoted to her family. The fact she left them at all is perfectly unfolded as an accident that she turns into an opportunity, all by intuition.

The man she meets is no paradigm of handsome or charming, in fact he's just the opposite. But he is so inherently good, a really decent human being, she comes to like him, and look out for him. Played by Swiss actor Bruno Ganz, he matches Maglietta's believable ease and imperfect, quiet intensity. The rest of the cast is truly supportive, and tips just slightly (or more than slightly in one case) into caricature, to reminds us, I suppose, that this is a movie, a fantasy, a comedy in many ways.

But it's also a deeply serious and moving love story between two middle-aged people who are ready for renewal.

I have a feeling many people, especially people with families or those conservative at heart, will find the basic premise of a woman leaving her family in a glib and almost carefree way and not going back for a long time to be shameful or even sinful. Her kids are normal distracted teenagers who like her when they notice her, her husband is a hardworking and loud businessman who doesn't beat her, her home is her own and comfortable. In other words, she has a really normal life, a good one by most measures. Does everyone have the right to up and leave a working family relationship because they feel a bit restless? Is this movie a worship of selfishness?

Or is it a reminder that life is short and you have to get to what really matters, and be with people who are truly wonderful and good, no matter what?

I can't think of a more joyous way to ask the question.

This is an enjoyable little Italian/Swiss production, that mostly gets carried by its characters.

The movie is sweet, little and innocent. In other words, perfect harmless entertainment. The movie feels warm and sincere, this is due to the setting of the movie (Venice) and its characters, that are all far from perfect but because of that also very humane and in this case also enjoyably quirky at times.

The movie is mostly comical with its characters. They are over-the-top but at the same time kept humane. It helps to make the movie an enjoyable one to watch and at the same time also keeps sure that the emotions of the movie feel real.

The movie features a nice story in which a married mother escapes her normal everyday life after she has been forgotten during a vacation by the tour bus. She decides to take advantage of the situation by hitchhiking to Venic, the city she always wanted to visit. perhaps for the first time ever in her life she feels herself alive and home somewhere, where she really can be herself. She decides to stay for a day but the day soon becomes days and the days weeks.

For a change the movie centrally features a love-story between 2 persons at age and not persons who are still in the prime of their life and are in their early 20's, or something. It's refreshing, dramatic more powerful and involving and in a way also sweeter.

Licia Maglietta is a good leading lady for the movie. and she forms a good couple with Bruno Ganz, who is halve Swiss, halve Italian and by far has the best lines of the movie, that almost sound poetic like. The rest of the supporting actors are mainly for the fun but everyone does a good job at portraying them.

The movie is however not the best made and constructed one. At times they simply choose not to show some of the dramatic responses and just cut away and goes forward in time or back to another location. In my opinion this is a sign of weakness of the film-maker's skills and it's also definitely due to the editing that the movie does not work out at all times.

Nevertheless, you should be able to appreciate and enjoy watching this movie.

7/10

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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.

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!

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.

As American living in Italy, I can assure anyone that the main character is realistically impersonated and she had enough of the Italian typical man depicted by her husband. The movie reflects on the freedom of spirit that cannot be withheld by anyone but also upon human relationships, gossip, interpretations and misinterpretations of news, facts or subjective experiences. Perfect chosen scene for the movie, not only for the unique lagoons and architecture of Venice but also for the romance spirit lingering in every of its corner. Besides, it was a good opportunity for extensive advertising around the world. This is an Italian spoken movie with English subtitles but easy to pick up on Italian for those who would like to learn it. Recommended for light viewing.

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.

"Bread & Tulips" is a charming and leisurely slice-of-life romantic tale about a middle class, middle aged Italian housewife who gets separated from her family during a holiday bus trip and find herself falling in love in Venice. Italian and subtitled, "B&T" spends its run time developing a handful of quaintly quirky characters as it spins its dreamy tale which could be every mature married woman's fantasy. A good shoot in all respects, "B&T" will appeal most to those into Euroflix....especially mature women.

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?

Bread and Tulips was a big hit at the Donatello Film Awards - Italy's equivalent of the Oscar or Bafta. Like the popular Spanish movie Belle Epoque, this is not a serious or groundbreaking movie but has achieved worldwide for the same 'feel-good' factors that work in American films. I'm sure the ladies will love this.

I liked that it was based in Venice and I got to see images of that city that I've never seen before - totally unique settings. All the characters are likable except Rosalba's family. We have Rosalba, a Pescaran housewife with a husband and two sons who don't appreciate her sacrifices. We have Costantino, an unemployed plumber who moonlights as a private eye to find Rosalba in Venice on her selfish husbands instructions. The rest of the Venetian team is rounded out by an eccentric masseuse looking for Mr. Perfect, an suicidal Icelandic man looking for love and an aging florist who can be very rude to his customers.

Yes, there is nothing original in the plot. The characterizations are shallow and clichés abound. But this is a light, likable little movie with pleasant actors and an even more pleasant surrounding. Good for an evening then promptly forgotten.

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.

Bread and Tulips is one of those modest films which touches human hearts due to a fairly simple story,a choice of good locations,good actors and an overall feel good effect.It has remained a modest film entirely due to its director's efforts.Silvio Soldini is a Swiss director who has converted various challenging stories into some of the most outstanding films of recent times (La brûlure du vent,Agata e la tempesta,Giorni e nuvole) ever directed in Swiss cinema. Silvio Soldini's direction has worked wonders for actors like Licia Maglietta and Bruno Ganz who have given credible performances as a lonely housewife and a sad waiter.Bread and Tulips is a film which is close to human hearts as on many occasions ordinary folks have the tendency to desire that they are left alone to pursue their dreams.One such dream has taken firm hold of our leading lady Rosalba's mind.What we see in the entire film are her efforts to attain the unattainable. Pane e tulipani is a film for you if you admire Italy,Bruno Ganz and richness of simple stories for cinema.

This movie doesn't really have a convincing story. It feels like any event happens because the author wanted it to happen, rather than as consequence of the characters' decisions.

On top of that its attempts to be funny, but probably I didn't understand its humour.

On the positive side the photography is really nice, as it shows Venice in a different light as a quite, charming place with great views of the canals, the "calle", and the countryside around it.

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.

Licia Maglietta and Bruno Ganz are so wonderful in this movie that I wish it had been a better film, because I would love to watch their performances over and over, but I won't be doing so, because, besides Maglietta and Ganz, the movie is only lukewarm.

"Bread and Tulips" is a lighthearted romantic comedy about a middle-aged woman who accidentally walks out on her family and starts a new life in Venice. Rosalba's (Maglietta)'s husband, Mimmo, dispatches a private detective, actually a plumber who came to him for work, to bring her back home. Comedic and romantic complications ensue.

The revelation here is Licia Maglietta. She is simply one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in a movie. She's not just beautiful, she is entrancing. I'd put her appeal in the same class with Garbo. There is a scene where she wrenches a tune out of an accordion (it's actually her playing the accordion) and the look of pleasure on her face has more life and sex appeal than most actresses can achieve in the most rigorous of love scenes.

Bruno Ganz, who has convincingly played both an angel ("Wings of Desire") and Hitler ("Downfall") is as wonderful as ever as an older waiter.

Ganz and Maglietta make very beautiful music together, but, otherwise, the film is underwritten and lightweight. Rosalba says virtually nothing of substance in the entire film. Venice, a picturesque city, is photographed with so little imagination that the movie may as well have taken place in a K-Mart parking lot.

There are some nice gags involving a tulip and an antique gun, but, really, I wish this exact same cast could be brought together for a more ambitious, more fully realized film.

What I appreciated most in Bread And Tulips (English title), is the subtlety of the humor.

There are some truly wonderful comedic small touches here, such as when the plumbing 'detective' is confronted at gunpoint by Ganz's very linguistically eloquent character, and fails to understand him. There are some very funny lines. But it's not a gutbuster. It's more subtle than that.

A most human drama. Characters are drawn from real life, given just enough idiosyncrasy to make them interesting, not abstractions. I thought it was as gender fair as any movie I've seen : both the women and men are equally shown as flawed, ignorant, sinister, mean, or noble and generous without making the case for one sex being preponderantly more prone to such failings or graces than the other gender.

It is directed with a nurturing gentleness reflective of a female director . . .although the director is a man and the co-writer a woman. The story's protagonist is a woman whose heart has been relegated to second-class by all the self-serving males who surround her. . . her intimacy sacrificed. A woman can understand another woman in this conflict more naturally than men usually can which makes the director's accomplishment all the more remarkable.

If you're up for a romantic movie comedically driven but full of pathos, look no further. I recommend this movie heartily.

Wish there were more movies this well done. . . .

An Oscar BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM nominee, 9 times David di Donatello Awards winner, an exceptional case of home run. Silvio Soldini's overwhelmingly heartfelt crowd-pleaser is about an Italian woman's awakening realisation of the prospect that she might reap a new romance and start a new life in her middle-age, plus, it is in Venice!

Rosalba (Maglietta) is an average middle-class housewife from Pescara, only she is all fingers and thumbs in some measure, during a group trip with her family, her clumsiness incidentally results in her being left alone in a highway café, clearly her husband Mimmo (Catania) and their two sons take no notice of her absence in the first place. Later after being scolded by an exasperated Mimmo and commanded to wait in situ for the bus to return and pick her up, a disgruntled Rosalba decides to hitchhike back to home instead of continuing the trip, and en route to Pescara, realising that she has never been to Venice, she makes an impulsive decision to visit Venice, which will change her life forever, and for the better!

A planned overnight stay expectedly extends into a prolonged sojourn, Rosalba finds a job as a helper for the local florist Fermo (Andreasi), and camps out in the apartment of a recluse Fernando (Ganz), an Icelandic waiter she meets in the restaurant. Unbeknown to her, a reticent Fernando is actually planning a suicide when Rosalba effects an entrance into his miserable life, later it will reveal that he is taking care of his grandson and the latter's mother Adele (Lepore), whom his son deserted long time ago.

While Rosalba luxuriates in her adventure in Venice, at home, a fuming Mimmo is desperate to know her whereabouts (although their two adolescent sons are quite easy with their mother's unusual vacation), he hires an inept and overweight plumber Costantino (Battiston) who is applying for a job in his company, as a private detective to look for Rosalba in Venice. Little had he known, unexpected fondness will be God's divine design, spontaneously germinate between Costantino and Grazia (Massironi), a masseuse living next door to Fernando and Rosalba's new best friend, who is so down on her luck in relationships and also in critical need of a plumber in her life.

Of course, a nagging guilty conscience of shirking from her duty both as a wife and a mother has been duly interrupts Rosalba's otherwise perfect holiday in Venice by the mechanics of her own imaginations, but Soldini renders the intrusions with such a light and comedic touch, Rosalba will practically become accustomed to it in no time. As plain as day, Mimmo is not a qualified husband for her, he can no longer appreciate her earthy beauty and their communication has been shut down for too long. So what the exotic Fernando brings to her life is something more wholesome, more sincere, and vice versa, she picks up her childhood hobby, the accordion, and he brings her to dancehall, together, they celebrate his grandson's birthday in the Floating City, what's more one can hanker for? Finally, albeit a predictable due date of her getaway, a new page of her life has already been turned, at any rate, a lady must have a little patience to wait for her Prince Charming to take his action.

Unbridled from the traditional view of family and responsibility, BREAD AND TULIPS is an encouraging but fantasised fable can hit hard to those who are bogged down in their middle-life crises, and aspiring to breathe some fresh air, even just for two hours, on top of that, it doesn't reek of cheesiness and schmaltz when you replay it in mind after the show, mostly by virtue of a genial Licia Maglietta in her unsentimental and non-dramatic representation of a character could easily go overboard with all the quixotic bells and whistles around her.

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.

It's a series of coincidences that bring a woman to meet many eccentric people in Venice who live life in their particular way. She herself came also by accident to Venice and through a spontaneous decision. This spontaneous temporary life will replace her monotonous boring life as a mother and a wife in a very `normal' family.

It gave me a pleasant feeling of warmth and joy about life. It made forget the bad feelings I had that day because of the continuously falling rain and the deep gray sky in the last two days. Everybody left the cinema smiling. The actors did their job very well. Among them is one of my favorites (Bruno Ganz) who was as always splendid in his role.

A sweet movie that pretends to be anchored in reality. When bored housewife Rosalba is "forgotten" during a trip, on a highway petrol station, she decides to go wild for one day and hitches a ride to Venice.

Once in Venice, Rosalba is fascinated by the city and by a way of life that is not merely utilitarian but also spiritually fulfilling. The flower shop where she finds a job is a first example of beauty as necessary to the soul.

Rosalba brings a bunch of flowers home every evening, to Fernando, the enigmatic waiter that rents her a room. She finds an accordion and remembers how much she loved playing. She strikes up immediate friendship with Grazia, the beautician next door. Most of all, her life is not anymore just being a servant to her unfaithful husband and selfish grown-up sons.

To avoid making the plot too dreamy, Rosalba lives in realistic surroundings: Fernando's apartment is messy and located in a cheap area, the Venice shown is not the luxury facade and Rosalba undergoes only a minimal physical transformation. Yet, it looks like she turned from shabby and vulgar middle-aged woman into a shiny, ageless creature just because of her happiness and a cheap yet feminine dress.

I would suggest this film be shown in marriage counseling classes.

It was a quirky little comedy that was brilliantly shot and superbly directed by Silvio Soldini, who also wrote the story.

Licia Maglietta is Rosalba, a bored housewife that is neglected by her husband. When she misses a tour bus, they do not even notice for two hours. She hitches a ride home, but decided to go to Venice instead, as she has never seen it. fate intervenes and she misses her transportation home and she decides to get a job and stay.

Bruno Ganz as Fernando was contemplating suicide when she walked into his life. He was only one of many that she touched. She was appreciated. She finally goes home, and everyone acts if she was never gone. When Fernando comes to take her back, you can guess what she did.

Some man find this boring, but they haven't a romantic heart. It was a beautiful love story of a woman freed.

I don't generally go for love stories, but this is absolutely riveting. It IS sort of a fairy tale, as they say-- but more than this, it's well-written, beautifully set and properly cast. The protagonist is a woman who strays accidentally (?) from her tour group and finds her place in the older, almost bohemian district of Venice. Her new friends are quirky but endearing from the start, and she lives cozily in the center of this artistic enclave. All of this contrasts so well with the suburban drudgery she left behind-- it's as though she'd spent half of her life marking time in a world with which she felt no connection. It's not a story of angst or alienation-- just everyday people, creating for themselves the lives they were meant to lead.

I've watched the DVD dozens of times, where I barely make it halfway through most fictional flicks. Not a single scene is wasted. If I had to select one film for my very highest recommendation, this would be the one!

Licia Maglietta plays the Italian every-woman in this 2000 comedy. She is literally left behind at a bus station by her family while she tries to fish out her wedding ring at the bottom of a toilet, which is essentially her marriage to an over excitable toilet-fixture businessman with a buxom mistress. So, what does our left behind spouse do; she hitchhikes to Venice and arranges to miss her bus home repeatedly as she finds work and a new life in a beautiful canaled city. Enter Bruno Ganz, a suicidal waiter that falls for her immediately. She plays the accordion; he sings. You get the idea, quirky.

The film develops very slowly and the laughs are here and there. Licia is nice and we want her to find happiness, but I must say there is a TV sitcom feel to the film, which probably didn't bother the Europeans, but here in America, awash with nightly sitcoms, I felt a little drowsy through Bread and Tulips.

I left this movie with mixed feelings but the bad impression prevailed. There are too many artificial elements in the story to make it a good movie. First of all the plot. It isn´t very elaborated, too constructed and sometimes even obvious sloppy. Two examples. At the beginning we see Rosalba in a sightseeing-bus. The bus stops at a road-house for a short rest and then the bus leaves without her. Her husband detects that she is missing, calls her and tells her to wait until the bus returns. Now I knew from the previews that she will make her own way and I wondered by which means the movie will achieve this. The answer was astonishing simple. There is a rough cut and all the sudden we find her sitting in a strange car without any convincing explanation, why she changed her mind. Another minor but typical detail. Later a detective tries to find her in Venice. Eventually he finds her and they meet. He gets a telephone call and she sneaks away. He follows her and leaves his suitcase behind. But you never get to know how he now makes his way without his suitcase. Secondly the characters. O.K., I know this is a comedy so you don´t have to expect any kind of Ingmar Bermann characters and relationships but do they have to be THAT shallow? The main character Rosalba reminds me of Jackie Brown, a woman in her 40s, still attractive (a rather showy camera-movement along Rosalba´s body at the beginning is employed to overemphasize this) but frustrated with her life. But while Jackie Brown changes her life through responding to the circumstances in a natural, convincing and exciting way, which emerge from the story alone, for Rosalba there are a lot of extraneous details used. Like her accordion-playing, knowing how to work with flowers and so on. Another characteristic example is the florist by whom she works. He is a little odd, but that´s it. You can´t take him as a real person. The ending is like you expected it right away, but it is too achieved in a rude way, as if the writers thought, well this has to be that way but why it becomes this way we don´t really care. This is all the more unsatisfactory than there are some good details. The camera-work especially in Fernando´s apartment is great, I liked Bruno Ganz acting very much and there were nice scenes when Rosalba talked with her son. But this isn´s enough for a thoroughly good comedy.