Marriage Italian Style

A story that spans twenty-two years. The relationship between the businessman Domenico and Filumena never becomes a marriage. When he decides to marry a younger woman, she says she is dying and gets the ceremony performed. Then she tells him the truth: she did it to legitimise her three sons. Vittorio De Sica directed, from Eduardo De Filippo's play Filumena Marturano. Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni star. It opened in December 1964. Domenico contests the marriage; eventually they reconcile, remarry, and he accepts all three boys as his own. It grossed around 3.7 million dollars in Italy and 9.1 million in North America. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 80 percent. The New York Times called it a wonderfully flamboyant collaboration between the director and his stars. It took two Oscar nominations: Best Actress for Loren and Best Foreign Language Film. It was selected for the 4th Moscow International Film Festival in 1965. Who it is for: viewers who like Italian comedy and the Loren and Mastroianni pairing. Who it is not for: anyone unwilling to excuse what these two do to each other. The film presents deception as a language of love, which can sit badly now.