The Garden of the Finzi Continis

views updated

The Garden of the Finzi Continis ★★★★ Il Giardino Del FinziContini 1971 (R)

Acclaimed film by De Sica about an aristocratic Jewish family living in Italy under increasing Fascist oppression on the eve of WWII. The garden wall symbolizes the distance between the FinziContinis and the Nazi reality about to engulf them. Flawless acting and welldefined direction. Based on the novel by Giorgio Bassani, who collaborated on the script but later repudiated the film. Music by De Sica's son, Manuel. In Italian with English subtitles or dubbed. 94m/C VHS, DVD . IT Dominique Sanda, Helmut Berger, Lino Capolicchio, Fabio Testi, Romolo Valli; D: Vittorio De Sica; W: Cesare Zavattini; C: Ennio Guarnieri; M: Bill Conti, Manuel De Sica. Oscars ‘71: Foreign Film; Berlin Intl. Film Fest. ‘71: Golden Berlin Bear.