Italy's magical fantasy of midlife crisis and rebirth in Venice, the city of lovers, swept the Italian film awards and charmed all of Europe. Director Silvio Soldini turns the tourist mecca of piazzas, canals, and stone bridges into a quaint little village out of time and fills the film with the charm of the city and the gentle quirks of his delightful cast. Licia Maglietta is winning as Rosalba, the frustrated and ignored middle-aged mom who impulsively takes a vacation from her family. She hitchhikes to Venice and falls for lonely, suicidal Icelandic waiter-poet Bruno Ganz (whose soulful, sad eyes recall his fallen angel from
Wings of Desire), blossoming as she rediscovers her smile and joy for life. Sweetly sexy and beautifully shot, this story of second chances may not be original or surprising (think
Shirley Valentine), but it's no less lovely or enchanting for it.
--Sean Axmaker
1 Great movie, very enjoyable
Corrections:
Rosalba does not find herself in the outer slums of Venice; just in an out-of-the way neighborhood, hardly a slum at all.
Also, she is not from Rome, but from Pescara.
Vince
2 The History of Mrs Polly
This is a charming and beautifully produced little romantic-comedy melodrama, with a bitter sweet taste. It is a simple tale , a kind of Italian version of H. G. Wells', The History of Mr. Polly, except the Italian Signora "Polly" (so to speak) finds her happiness among the picturesque slums of outer Venice and turns her back on the comfortable horrors of suburbanite Rome and its hyper markets. The little tale also has its "For want of a horseshoe nail the battle was lost "theme. The heroine's escape would simply not have happened but for her trying to fish a fallen earring out of a bus rest stop toilet bowl on the way back to Rome from a family holiday in the Greco-Italian south. Unbelievably the bus, plus husband and kids, leaves without her. It would spoil the story to tell you the rest. This is a very visual movie where you have to watch all the details very carefully (rather than to pay much attention to the dialogue). I first watched the DVD without the sub-titles, although my knowledge of Italian is minimal and yet I was able to follow the story without much difficulty. The photography focuses less on the overall grand beauty of the tourist's Venice but more on the still life details that a Renaissance artist wood have appreciated, for example the half a loaf of country bread on the kitchen table, a broken ornament, a baroque street light or the petals slowly falling off the cut tulips in a vase as the suicidal Icelander sits drinking his Chartreuse in despair. The movie deservedly won nine Italian academy awards for 2000, plus five silver ribbon of Italian Film Critics as well as several Golden Globe awards
3 Lovely...
This is a lovely, classy and gently sweet sort of romantic comedy. Much more about spreading one's wing than falling in love, it doesn't follow the trend of American comedies, which can be cutesy or racy. This is subtle and kindly toward its flawed and endearing characters. The actors look and act like real people, though in America they'd be considered "dark," the Italians use dry wit and optimism to create an enjoyable and uplifting film.
4 Like a pleasant dream on a lazy summer day.
A bored middle aged housewife whose family leaves her at a bus stop goes to Venice on a whim. She meets a charmingly eccentric cast of characters that lets her find relief from her daily life. She leaves routine behind and rediscovers life's pleasures and enjoyments. The film manages to show a serious mid-life crisis in a style that's heartwarming and comedic if not very realistic. I especially liked how it shows her anxieties about her family in dream sequences. That helps deal with the seriousness of worrying for her sons without taking away from the pleasant tone of the movie. Bread and Tulips has a marvelous cast and is beautifully filmed in Venice.
5 A feel-good film
Great acting. Beautiful scenery. A lovely script. Non-box office hit, but who needs those? This one is about reality and fantasy. Nicely done. Would watch again.
6 Wonderful Film!
My wife & I had heard what a good movie "Bread & Tulips" was and missed it at the theater, so we decided to wait until it was out on video and rent it. The wait was well worth it, as this film is an absolute delight!
By the mid-point of the film, you completely empathize with the lead charcater, Rosalba, first after she is left behind on a bus trip, and everything she has to endure from her dependent family; especially her hotheadedly jealous and cheating husband, who views Rosalba as nothing more than a housemaid expected to cook, clean and do laundry.
With wonderful performances by the entire cast, as well as breathtaking scenes on location in Venice, "Bread & Tulips" is a fantastic movie that you will watch again & again!
7 Ah, need I say more?
If viewers are enamoured by "Under the Tuscan Sun", "Thelma & Louise", "Shirley Valentine", this movie is definitely for you. The storyline is formulaic enough, an under-appreciated and clumsy wife who happened to miss her bus on a tour and decided not to return home straight away but ended up in Venice, the city that she had always wanted to go. Originally, it's supposed to be for overnight but overnight was extended into a couple of days and in the end, she gotten herself a job there! She befriended a waitress (the leading male) who provided her with a refuge, a new-age masseur who lived next door. The comic really started when the husband hired a plumber to search for his lost wife and the cat and mouse chase enabled us to have a glimpse of the Venice that we haven't seen before. Being a feel good movie, all ends well. Towards the end, you would understand why this movie is named as such, Bread and Tulips. Highly recommended. A typical Italian movie that celebrates life to the fullest!
8 Magical movie with beautiful scenery
I had seen this movie in the theatre and now have seen it on video as well. It was just as entertaining and sweet a story as it was the first time around. I think Rosalba does feel sort of shafted by her family and in turn decides to take that time to really do something for herself for a change. She sort of takes on a different lifestyle completely and in the process I think she finds herself. The characters she encounters make the story all the more fun and entertaining and they each seem to relate to her and/or teach her in some fashion. I think the chemistry and hidden romance between her and Fernando is wonderful and sweetly displayed throughout the movie. I think she basically saved his life. He had been trying to kill himself in a brief shot at least twice when he was interrupted by her. I am NOT a middle aged housewife nor am I even married and I found this movie very touching and beautifully done. The scenery in Venice and all around Italy really adds to the story and characters. It is just a delightful film. If you have love in your heart, a hint of magic in your soul, and a love of travel - this is a perfect movie! Enjoy!
9 An italian summer breeze
This is an original , powerful and charming love story . Venice is the background in which an unhappy married with a bore and predictable man decides to stop for mere casuality in Venice.
But this decision will be her twist of fate .
Admirable acting , Lucia and Bruno are superb , the script is very smart and the scenes are wonderful.
A feast for the senses.
10 "Once again, happiness knocked on my door in vain."
Italian housewife, Rosalba Barletta (Licia Maglietta) is on en route back home after a holiday with her obnoxious loudmouth husband and their two teenage sons. Rosalba is inadvertently left behind at a bus stop. At first she intends to catch up with her family, but then she makes a detour to Venice--a city she's always wanted to see. A one-night escape converts into a full-blown adventure, and soon Rosalba is living and working in Venice establishing a new life all of her own.
Rosalba's overbearing husband furiously demands that she return, but his nastiness serves only to re-enforce the reasons she's in Venice in the first place. When Rosalba doesn't return, her husband (who is also cheap to the core) employs a plumber with an interest in detective fiction to hunt Rosalba down and bring her back to her ever-mounting housewifely chores.
Three characters aid and abet Rosalba. There's Fernando Girasoli (Bruno Ganz), the loquacious waiter at a local Chinese restaurant, Grazia, the new age masseuse, and a florist with anarchistic tendencies. The naive plumber sent to track down Rosalba discovers that some detective novels tips are invaluable when tracking down a renegade housewife. While it is definitely true that the film's appeal targets those who experience love in middle age, there's also a delicious novelty to "Bread and Tulips." It's an utterly charming film. It's romantic, but it's also funny. And there's a reassurance that stepping into a new life may be as simple as missing the bus. If you enjoyed "Educating Rita" and "Shirley Valentine", then there's an excellent chance that you will also enjoy the very good-natured Italian film, "Bread and Tulips"--displacedhuman
11 Dreadfully overrated trash!
Maybe I can't appreciate Bread and Tulips because I am not a middle-aged housewife. I found the film slow, overlong, boring, and pointless. I could not feel any sympathy for the main character, therefore I couldn't like her, which made me dislike the film itself. How can I like someone who leaves her family for no reason to start a new life just for the hell of it. I didn't understand what motivated this character to do what she did or why she didn't even care to find out how her children are doing. Yes, her husband was a pig and didn't deserve her, but what fault do the children have? She was a distant and unlikeable woman who didn't even seem to realize how serious her actions were. The ending was absolutely ridiculous and I was fuming and impatient for the film to end by the time the credits started to roll! Not only does her so-called real love, a man old enough to be her father, drive from Venice to claim her, but he somehow seems to know that she would be at the supermarket in the middle of the day, bringing the film to an end ridiculous even by cheesy American romance standards. This film was recommended to me as a lighthearted comedy, but I didn't laugh once. In fact, I am baffled at all these five star reviews because this film was so awful. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much I hated it. Maybe it was just so overrated that I expected something more, but aside from the gorgeous setting, there is absolutely nothing in this for me to recommend it.
12 Gently hilarious, humane, and refreshing
"Bread and Tulips," Silvio Soldini's gently hilarious comedy, allows viewers to revel in a lovely story about the renewal of life and hope. It bears some resemblance to "Under the Tuscan Sun," but benefits from a stronger story and more fully realized characters. It also has some similarities to David Lean's "Summertime"--another beloved movie about a middle-aged woman finding romance in Venice--but the mood in "Bread and Tulips" is more sweet than bittersweet. Rosalba (Licia Maglietta), a bored housewife, is left behind on vacation with her crabby family when their tour bus leaves without her. Rather than going straight home to Pescara on the Abruzzi coast, she decides on a whim to head up to Venice, where she has never been. From there on in, the movie is very much about the renewal of the spirit--not only Rosalba's, but also that of Fernando (Bruno Ganz), the romantic restaurateur who falls for Rosalba, and Constantino (Giuseppe Battiston), the tubby, sad-sack plumber who reluctantly spies on Rosalba as a prerequisite for getting a job from Rosalba's bossy husband. These three actors give delightful performances, as do the other players in this quirky romantic comedy. Particularly enjoyable for American audiences is that Soldini places us in a Venice rarely seen in the tourist brochures. San Marco and other wonders are seen only in passing; most of the action takes place in Venice's back streets, among the rainbow-hued houses, tiny fountain-centered courtyards, and toy bridges crossing narrow canals. The photography is lovely, and looks sensational in the DVD transfer. "Bread and Tulips" is a two-hour vacation in a sweeter, gentler world.
13 Beautiful movie!
This is a beautiful movie. I just love it. I first saw it at the COPIA - The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts in Napa Valley, CA. After that viewing I ran out and bought the DVD. It is one of the most often viewed DVDs in my collection.
14 Thoughtful and Touching (4.6 on a scale of 1 to 5)
The story of "Bread and Tulips" has been told before in the movies and will be told again. A bored, underappreciated housewife escapes her life and finds true love away from the hearth and home. But the movie tells it very well and the actors make you believe in the possibility of life beginning anew.
Licia Maglietta plays an Italian wife on holiday with her husband and two boys. When she misses the bus from the petrol stop, her husband gets on the mobile and yells at her. She decides to hitchhike to catch up to them...and then on a whim ends up hitchiking to Venice, where she has never been.
And her life begins...in short order, she ends up with a room in the apartment of a kindly waiter with a sad history (he's suicidal when we first meet him), a job with a florist/anarchist, a friend in the form of her neighbor "a holistic masseuse." She blossoms into a beauty throughout the movie as her many gifts (kindness, wit, love) are recognized by those around her. Meanwhile her family misses her working for them-her husband finds out that his mistress is unwilling to iron his shirts-and wants her back. Her husband, too cheap to hire a real detective, insteads sends a prospective employee (a plumber by training) to find her. This portly character, who has read about 200 too many detective novels, injects tremendous humor into the movie.
The movie has many small charms. Though it is shot in Venice, the director only shows typical "beauty" shots in passing. The beauty of the city to the heroine occurs in the small shops and apartments of her newfound life. The acting, particularly of Maglietta, is profound and touching.
I would recommend this movie to those who like romances and foreign, art house films. A warning: it is both the ultimate chick flick and in Italian (with English subtitles). That alone may turn off a number of filmgoers. But if you're taste runs to this genre, well then you're in for a treat.
15 Venice...and Maglietta & Ganz...never looked so good
Venice never looked so good as it does here in Silvio Soldini's "Bread and Tulips." While the title loses a little something in the translation (in Italian, it's the cute and somewhat alliterative "Pane e Tulipani"), the slowly developing relationship between leads Licia Maglietta ("Rosalba") and Bruno Ganz ("Fernando") does not.
Despite the fact that the former starts out as a repressed, fed-up housewife and the latter as a brink-of-suicide waiter, the relationship is coaxed along so carefully and realistically by Soldini that it never feels fake or forced. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Maglietta is a breathtakingly vivacious (at the time) 46-year-old and the then-59-year-old Ganz is cut from the Terence Stamp school of on-screen magnetism.
Reading English subtitles has never been so effortless as it is here. The lyrical Italian sounds like a wonderfully comforting soundtrack. Don't waste this movie watching it alone. This is a great way to spend two hours with your significant other.
16 Charming film
A thoroughly charming romantic comedy from Italy. Rosalba (Licia Maglietta), a housewife who has been taken for granted by her family, finds herself separated from them when they forget her at a rest stop. Not even realizing what she is doing at first, she takes the opportunity to hitchhike to Venice and enjoy a hiatus from her dissatisfying life. Before long, she has a job in a florist's shop and has encountered an endearingly quirky cast of characters-a melancholy waiter (Bruno Ganz), a goofy masseuse (Marina Massironi), and the amateur detective who has been sent by her husband to find her (Giuseppe Battiston).
This film could have easily become too cloying or self-consciously cute. It avoids these pitfalls by employing a marvelous cast. The script (Doriana Leondeff) and direction (Silvio Soldini) focus on the humanity of the characters rather than superficial eccentricities that are meant to emphasize the whimsical nature of the story.
17 3&half for me
this was a cool lite film that dealt with some interesting subject matter about Happiness&Love.I've seen other films in the same vein so I wasn't blown away.but it works.it has a nice charm to it.
18 DATE FILM ALERT: charming love story in a beautiful setting
Licia Maglietta as the middle-aged under-appreciated housewife RosalbaÊand Bruno Ganz as the suicidal poet and restauranteur Fernando are both charming in this tale of mature love in Venice. When she is accidentally left at a rest stop during a bus tour with her family, Rosalba decides to have an adventure and see Venice. As usual in this film genre, she meets quirky people and has small but magical things happen. These are films that depict characters undergoing growth and transformation, and while the details and ending depend on the director's temperament, the film's success depends on the actors' ability. In the case of Bread & Tulips, an optimistic outlook and a fine cast make this a fun and charming film, perfect for a date where you want to say "Love can be quite nice". (Unlike a first dinner/date I had where the guy brought over John Hurt in the bleak and violent "1984". Very short relationship.) The emphasis here is on growth rather than transformation, since Maglietta is so beautiful and joyful that she can't be 100% believable as the bored and boring frumpy housewife.
Perhaps you remember Bruno Ganz from Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire? This is a less divine role for the charismatic Ganz, but here he speaks beautiful Italian, recites poetry and eventually twinkles his eye at the lovely lady in distress. Though when they meet he has been contemplating suicide, this aspect of the film is neither overemphasized nor played for laughs.
There is a sizeable cast, and every one is very good. There are quite a few lovely exterior shots in Venice and the music is fine, though you will not be humming any tunes the next day.
Optional English subtitles, and trailers for Bread & Tulips, The Luzhin Defence and House of Mirth are the only added features on the disk.
19 A Nice Holiday
"Bread and Tulips" is a charming Italian film about a housewife who is accidentally left behind by her loud family while on holiday. She decides to visit Venice on her own, where she has never been, and ends up staying for much longer than planned. While there, she meets a bunch of oddballs and brings a little sunshine to their lives, while being dogged by a comic detective sent by her husband to bring her home. There is not much scenic footage of Venice here, but some the characters are memorable and there are some plot twists that prevent it from being too predictable. Unfortunately there are also a few loose ends, such as the fate of the woman's son whom she worries about back home. There are also a few brief, bizarre interludes which I think are supposed to be dream sequences, though the cinematography does not make this clear. At any rate, this is an amusing bit of escapism and worth seeing once.
20 a social critique on Itailan machismo- but not too many laug
At first the movie got off to a slow start, but then once new characters became invovled in the plot, things started to change for the protagonist.
The movie is a cross between Desparately Seeking Susan with Madonna and Just Married...
At parts you will be waiting for the ending to come, which you know what it is.
This movie examines Italian machismo and makes an interesting statement by staying that Fernando is the man for her. Fernando, is not like her husband or sons, because he was changed by his experience in jail. Hmm, is this a commentary saying that men will only be decent to women once they are punished for their behavoir?? Maybe I'm pulling too much out of this one!
It's nto as funny for the American audience, I did not find more than maybe one moment as funny. The movie has some odd parts and it is incredible to think how Fernando would let her stay with him so long...
It's worth seeing, but maybe just once.
21 Quite Impressing
A very impressing movie. I went through it a second time and still find it a delight.
The film is not really too realistic in it's treatment, it's more like a comedy or else the story would be too much a cliche. The duties and obligations of life are smothering her inner nature. As a middle class housewife, her routine would be housalchores and her only pastime would be watching TV when pressing clothes and occasionally getting on a family trip. But the husband only cares about taking a picture and her son only listening to discman even on the trip... How her own feelings and urges, say, to make new friends, to play music that she was once so strongly attached to, or do some gardening which she is so talented. It's hardly a life of her own choice. And she manages to do them all in Venice. How?
It all started with the family on vacation, taking a trip which sent this housewife back to her innermost urge and feelings. It's presented in a way that it's overbrimming with fun and humour-- not just romance, and in a way the viewers wouldn't find it boring or unconvincing at all.
Needless to say, the pleasantness of the leading actress as well as the beautiful sceneries of the city has a lot to do with the success of the film too-- not just the German actor. The portrayal of the amateur detective is rather humourous or even sweet and that of the restaurant captain with a strong sense of resignation is a success; as to the beautician and the old achronistic florist, however brief the portrayal might be, they are all quite impressing indeed.
22 Food for the soul ... and the eyes
When I saw Pane e Tulipani in the theater I fully expected an American version to follow. It's a flick that combines Hollywood style, Gallic humor, and Italian romance. Pair this one with Katherine Hepburn and Rosanno Brazzi in "Summertime" (1954), David Lean's lush valentine to Venice, and you'll see the story of an underappreciated woman told from the perspective of both the middle and the end of the twentieth century.
In a word: delicious.
23 Eccezzionale!
wonderful! a great view of venice, for those who have misplaced homesickness (me?) and an entertaining story that keeps unfolding! Very similar to Amelie--but better because it's Italian! ;)
vedettela!
24 Just wonderful!
This is a wonderful, uplifting movie. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The Italian was spoken beautifully and the scenery was splendid. I recommend this video.
25 Touching and Rewarding
In the hands of directors and actors less patient and subtle, this film could have simply come across as contrived and stupid; fortunately, we are dealing with a director who allows the story to unfold gradually, so that we more fully connect with the characters within. And those characters are played by actors who are not given to chewing up scenery, but instead give wonderfully understated perfomances, particularly in the case of Bruno Ganz.
At the center of the story are two people who have basically allowed life and circumstances roll over them like a steamroller. Rosealba is a housewife whose whole being has been given over to tending to the needs of her utterly indifferent family. The husband's only attention is abusive, while the sons are supremely self-absorbed.
On the other end is Fernando, the depressed and suicidal Icelandic waiter, who has to be one of the bleakest characters I have encountered in a long time.
Both characters have lost contact with the things that truly bring joy into their respective lives. Both love music and dancing, and have done neither for years. When Rosealba, while on a vacation tour with her family, is forgotten and left behind at a busstop, something inside her snaps and she takes matters into her own hands. Pursuing her own self-interest for perhaps the first time in her life, she makes her way to (unbelievably dry and unpolluted --- ah the movies) Venice, where she encounters a variety of friends and opportunities that awaken in her the desires and interests that have lain dormant for so long. I particularly enjoyed watching her play the accordion, as she gets very up close and personal with her instrument. Anyone who is a musician with any skill can relate to the deep emotional bond that can develop between player and instrument, which is a unique bond. That bond was very well portrayed here.
Eventually she is tracked down by a barely competent detective (possessing perhaps the most annoying cell phone in the world), and is made to feel guilty for abandoning her obligations to her family. She faces up to her responsibilities and returns home. The movie could have perhaps ended at this point, leaving us a little depressed and wondering what might follow. I would have preferred an ending along these lines, because it forces the movie viewer to ponder what the future for these characters might be.
However, the movie cruises along and wraps up with a happy ending, as Fernando, for perhaps the first time in his life, takes matters into his hands and launches an expedition to retrieve Rosealba. He succeeds, and the circle of friends (which now includes a much happier detective) returns to Venice, presumably to live happily ever after.
Even with an ending as cheesy as that, the performances by the actors allow the viewer to look beyond the occasional flaws of the movie and appreciate what is overall a very satisfying production.
26 Wonderful performances make Bread and Tulips special.
Bread and Tulips tells the story of a middle-aged Italian woman, Rosalba, beautifully played by Licia Magletta, who is left stranded at a tourist stop by her husband and son. Upset by their indifference to her, she decides to visit Venice before she goes home to a family that does not appreciate her anymore.
Needing dinner after arriving at her pensione (bed and breakfast) she goes to a ...tratoria (family style restaurant) and meets Fernando, the waiter, played by the fine German actor, Bruno Ganz, whom some viewers may have seen in Wim Wenders wonderful films. Rosalba is short of cash and ends up staying with Fernando in his apartment.
Rosalba senses the loneliness and sadness in Fernando, he has a noose to hang himself hidden under his bed, and she does her best to cheer him up and she does this by making his dingy apartment an attractive place to live.
Rosalba soon finds work with an eccentric florist and decides to stay with Fernando. She is a warm, attractive woman who makes life better for everyone she meets. She seems in no hurry to go home to her family.
Her husband decides to send a plumber, who has come looking for work, to Venice to find his wife. This subplot adds much humor to the story. Each of the characters has some unique quality which makes them memorable. Rosalba is so warm and friendly that everyone who meets her likes her and wants to help her. She may not be needed by her family, but she quickly becomes important to her small circle of friends in Venice.
What makes this film special is first the performances, which are first-rate, Licia Maglietta as Rosalba is wonderful. She is just the sort of person we would like to know. She is warm, friendly, genuinely interested in others, and talented. All the supporting players are drawn to her and are better for knowing her.
Bruno Ganz as Fernando is wearied by all the dashed hopes and disappointments of his life, which may have gotten the better of him had he not met Rosalba. He is the moon, dark and brooding, to Rosalba's sun.
The story is well directed and well told. Enough quirky and unusual characters come on the scene to keep our interest high. Clearly the director wants to show us Italians as they really are, not so much descendants of the Romans as a pompous tour guide suggests, but silly and flawed like the rest of us. Rosalba, a seemingly ordinary housewife, is the best of the Italians and the best is plenty good enough.
27 Second chances in my Italy
Venice, and Italy in general, is truly everything you read in tourist books; but the Italy where this story of awakening and second chances (or maybe first real chance?) takes place is a little more like the country in which I grew up and the Venice I remember and miss... Small streets, little shops, busses, mothers who baby their sons way into their adult lives--the plumber's mother is quite realistically portrayed--the autostrada grill stop, the long lines at the boat stop outside Venice's Santa Lucia train station, the smoky industrial view of Porto Marghera's oil refinery complex, the hidden canals, the out of the way modest restaurants and hotels, the buildings that have been there for hundreds of years, and most importantly, the people: not romantic beauties or creatures of Hollywood passion, not heroic peasants nor hardened Mafia criminals, but everyday people with their quirks, their sorrows, their shortcomings and dreams. What better place where to awaken to the possibilities of your own self than among real people? Heroes will save the day, but it's the heart of everyday people that will give you strength while they accompany you through life.
28 A story of freedom and value
An italian housewife hurried and rushed through her yearly vacation by her husband's brusqueness accidentally gets left behind by the tour bus.
She tries to reunite with the tour group, only to be sidetracked by her own imagination of the possibilities. Smidgens of her imagination and guilt at pursuing this route come back as dreams.
Anyone who at some point in times in their lives has wanted to explore the "What if" of the path they have not taken can appreciate this story of the housewife that explores it. You can see that she feels that giving her all in her family is not really appreciated. Her all, is marginally on their radar screen, while not providing her with a sense that she is living her own life, following her own dreams and interests. Well this mistake in their vacation plans has changed all that. Fate has intervened
She winds up in Venice, some place she has never visited and meets a widower, who is on the brink of suicide, a single woman on the far side of left and winds up working in a florist shop of a man with a true appreciation of his art. He is also a bit daft as well. With this group of misfits she begins to redefine who she is on her own terms.
It is a fun movie that can show how confining and comfortable ruts can be, despite their lack of fit. I'm not saying we should all throw caution to the wind, but recognizing your own value and that you too have a right to a life, is a point often missed by many, even those with a capability of changing all that..
A fun movie and one that emphasizes the potential in us all.
29 Bread & Tulips
I would not equate this with Bridges of Madison County which was more of a tragic love story.
It reminded me more of an Italian "Shirley Valentine". Rosalba stepped away from her role as wife and mother and began to discover herself again. Something a lot of women seem to lose when caught up in the day to day life of marriage and children. Every middle aged woman should see this film. It's impossible not to smile at the end!
30 venice, city for lovers
the cinema is superb. i recently visited the magnificently unique city of venice and this film does the city justice. the story line is most enjoyable and the comedy is top rate. i wholeheartedly recommend.
31 A romantic comedy set in Venice? Who would have thunk it?
It is bound to happen. A romantic comedy set in Venice is like a Broadway show set in New York. It makes the perfect sense. The pair of love birds might not be your typical young twenty-something in love. In fact, one is a runaway middle-aged mom, Rosalba(Maglietta Maglietta), and the other is an over-the-hill waiter-slash-romantic poet (Bruno Ganz)who is just about to commit suicide the day he meets her. However, it has all the right ingredients to make it a sweet and charming love story, and an award-winning one at that.
If you have never seen Venice in real life, this movie will put you on the narrow streets and alleyways of Venice minus the sewage smell in the summer. As a substitute for the smell, there is a story about the bumbling plumber (Venice does need good plumbers!) who got hired by Rosalba's husband to track her down, and voila, there is your comedic element. The cinematography is breathtaking, as it has become a standard in many top quality European films these days.
It is most likely you won't walk away with the thought that this is one of the best movies you have ever seen. It is a fairly accessible piece that has many of the right elements of a superior movie. One complaint is that the segues between reality and Rosalba's imagination are confusing at times, and in my opinion, do not serve much purpose in the narration. Overall, it is an entertaining film that you should catch one of these days. Especially during those days you miss Venice or want to know what it is like.
32 Charming...
Rosalba Barletta, a housewife in her fourties, is left in a bus station "by accident" by the rest of her family while doing a tour, so she decides to give a shot to making some of her dreams come true: she hitchhikes to Venice, finds a job, and tries to start a new life. But her dreams of her family and the fear of loosing one of her sons to drugs don't let her be at ease. There's more to the story, but I don't want to spoil it for you...
Let's face it. This isn't the deepest movie you can check out these days, but it has a charm only equaled by movies such as Central Station or Guantanamera, and it carries a subtle message around the fact that she had enough courage to pursue her dreams, something that we could all learn from. The cinematography and music: impeccable. Overall it deserves four stars: no more, no less.
33 Midlife crisis anyone?
A delightful movie to watch.Venice,a perfect place to rediscover yourself and have your midlife crisis at the same time.
34 bread and tulips
naturally, understanding italian makes this film all the more enjoyable. Nonetheless, the flavor of the film comes through even with subtitles. The characters are endearing, believable,(perhaps a bit caracaturish), and the pace is soothing. some nice shots of venice, and to boot, a happy ending.
35 A Warm Perspective on Life
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.
36 Nice, light and enjoyable Italian romantic comedy
Bread and Tulips is a nice romantic comedy set in Venice. The story of a middle-class Italian housewife from Abruzzi who- on a whim- goes to Venice for an unscheduled vacation. There she finds herself enjoying life for what may be the first time in years.
The supporting cast is great, but the real star is Licia Maglietta who plays the housewife- Rosalba. Her portrayal is charming, comedic and on the mark. I can't imagine anyone not being enamored of her performance and likeability.
Bread and Tulips is a nice, light Italian comedy.
37 An enjoyable and touching movie.
I'm glad I had an opportunity to see this movie. I found it very enjoyable, and also quite touching in many scenes. It is a very pleasant and refreshing alternative to the typical and formulaic movies coming out of Hollywood these days. There are no deafening crashes or explosions. There are few bombastic momements of "high drama." What you end up with is a very nice and touching story about some special human beings you enjoy getting to know.
38 Story full of charm!
This was such an unexpected find! This is the story of a housewife who has the opportunity to look at her life and really see what she wants to do with the rest of it. Many have told this story with variations but not all have achieved the charm and style this film does. I would like to see this one get more attention!
39 Escaping to Venice
When an Italian housewife Rosalba (Licia Maglietta) suddenly finds herself stranded, she realizes that perhaps she is not as appreciated by her family as she would like to be. All she sees is the tour bus moving off into the distance and then realizes her son has changed his phone number so she is unable to stop the bus.
When they finally call to ask where she is, she can't believe they didn't even check to see if she was on the bus before they left. Feeling adventurous and a little resentful, she decides to hitch a ride home, but ends up in Venice. With little money to spare, she manages to survive for a few days with hopes of getting a job and finding a place to stay.
After finding a job in a florist shop and moving in with a waiter named Fernando (who is just about to kill himself it seems), she meets Grazia who bursts into her life asking her to help her with a plumbing disaster.
For some reason Rosalba is swept away in this new life and keeps telling her family she will be back soon, yet something strange power seems to overtake her and she decides she too needs a vacation, albeit a working vacation. She spends her time working in the florist shop, reading books in the evening and eating breakfast prepared by Fernando. He also leaves her a note each morning, which is quite romantic even though, technically, she is just his house guest.
Once Rosalba's husband starts to notice that things are not getting done around his house, he hires Costantino (Giuseppe Battiston) as his private detective. This is when it become more of a comedy of sorts as Costantino is really a plumber who is determined to find Rosalba and return her to her husband.
An enjoyable escape that really keeps
your full attention. Licia Maglietta is
pure magic.
40 Charming Interlude
When Rosalba escapes her dreary life as the wife of the philandering and boorish Mimmo, she is transformed before our eyes from a frumpy, stretch-pants clad tourist to a sexy and beautiful object of admiration in romantic Venice. Wrapped in caring from Fernando, a waiter who invites her to share his apartment, and her neighbor Grazia, a masseuse who may be more than just that, Rosalba becomes a confident and self-assured woman. She makes a life for herself where she finally feels appreciated and loved, no longer taken for granted.
Most of the comedy is provided by Costantino, a bumbling wannabe detective hired by Mimmo to track Rosalba down and incidentally provides the viewer with a tour of Venice.
This film is an escape to unreality, a beautifully filmed feel-good movie with wonderful acting. I finished watching it with a smile on my face!
41 Transcending the Romantic Comedy Genre!
Bread and Tulips is wonderful! The DVD cover says it was nominated for international awards and won at least 9 awards; it fully deserves them all!
Its simple tale has all the power and universal grandeur of a classical Greek myth or parable. Mainly set in present-day Venice (probably the world's most romantic city with a poignancy, poetry, and proximity to mythical power uniquely its own), it charts the emotional rebirth of a woman who, at movie's start, has become an awkward stranger to the vibrant beauty of her very own heart.
The lady's emotional healing slowly touches the lives of others in similar emotionally-bereft lives and, with a wonderful economy of psychological insight into the characters, everyone's everyday tragedies transform into meaningful uplifting relationships with a shared music and mutually-loving harmony.
Bread and Tulips is most easily defined as a romantic comedy; yet, it transcends most other modern movies of that genre insofar as it fully honors human emotions and never ridicules or devalues them. A wonderful and heartwarming emotional education of a movie with superb acting igniting it from start to finish; fully recommended.
42 Charming Trip to Venice
A charming, funny and warm story filmed in Venice, Italy. The characters are believable, human and lovable. A rare treat for independent women and a good lesson for men.
Like Shirley Valentine, this one is just as good. I enjoyed it very much. Am thinking of buying it for my collection. It's one of those "feel good" movies.
43 Ah, Romance!
Wonderful escape movie. Fun characters - great scenery. Warning: if you are a housewife you WILL have a hard time appreciating doing laundry for a while.
Grab your favorite friend and a bunch of flowers and enjoy!
44 Bread and Tulips
This is the best foreign film I have seen this year. I found it beautiful and heartwarming. It left me with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. The filming is beautiful and the acting is flawless. It is a "must have" for my movie collection, and now Venice is a "must see" for me. I could leave behind my "everyday life" for love and adventure in Venice. I am so happy that Rosalba did, she gives a lot of hope for those of us who are under-appreciated and verbally abused by our spouses and children -- even if in the real world we can only escape for a short time in movies.
45 The Best Movie Ever Made
This was the best movie ever made. It was romantic and funny. It also shows you the culture, language, life, music, and people of Italy. It was a wonderful movie. Everyone should see it. Everything was great in it. This movie was magnificent and perfect. The actors were great. Bread and Tulips is my new favorite movie. It is humerous, yet serious. It is a great movie to show any audience.
46 Loved this film.
Filmed in the "real" Venice, this tale is a delightful blend of humor, music and charismatic cast - with a starring lead lady whose every move is exquisitely sensual. You will leave the theatre smiling with a song in your heart.
47 LASAGNA IN THE FRIDGE, LOVE IN THE HEART
When we first see Rosalba, the constrained fortysomething wife and mother on a dull vacation with her family in her native Italy, she is an unattractive awkward tourist with a black fanny pack revealing a drooping middle-aged spread, clumsily carrying bags of gawky souvenirs, while not having the time of her life on a bus trek through Italian historic relics. Somewhere along her independent journey, when she misses the bus while detained in a tourist stop restroom, actress Licia Maglietta transforms her character into an eye-popping, sexually exciting woman with an alluring expression of desire and maternal warmth, while doing little else than losing the fanny pack. Ah, that's amore! What a nice, non-abrasive film this is, offering not so much a feel-good response as it does a more satisfying glow of hearts yearning and emotional contentment.
48 Bread and Tulips
I found this movie to be absolutely charming and left the theatre with a smile on my face. Licia Maglietta was marvelous as the 40-something lovely lady who decides to take the other fork in the road and starts a new life in Venice. Tired of being under-appreciated and verbally abused by her boorish husband and preoccupied sons, Rosalba (Licia) decides to live for herself for a change and then becomes the catalyst that magically causes others to change around her -- the suicidal landlord/restauranteer, the aging florest employer who is a former anarchist, the lady neighbor down and hall, and even the comical plumber/detective sent in pursuit by her husband.
This film is funny, poignant, heart-warming, and charming. The entire cast is truly memorable; the small vignettes of Rosalba's dreams are somewhat jarring in their presentation - but once you become acclimated to their random arrival they add a bit of mystery to the film that is somewhat resolved at the end.
This is a DVD that I will buy upon release for sure.
49 Delightful
A delightful, "feel good" experience is Bread and Tulips. In a time of anguish, sadness and concern after the events of 11 September 2001, the viewing public could not do better than to drag themselves away from the TV and spend a couple of hours cleansing their soles in this therapeutic, wonderfully Italian tale of true happiness.
50 Housewife escapes having to scrape the lasagna pan
The plot of BREAD AND TULIPS is a familiar one. A forty-something housewife, dulled by her day-to-day domestic obligations, takes time out for herself away from husband and offspring, during which she rekindles a zest for life and unexpectedly discovers a new passion. The same theme runs through another film of a few years back, BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY.
In BREAD AND TULIPS, it's the end of the family vacation, and Rosalba (Licia Maglietta) finds herself mistakenly left marooned at a roadside food-petrol-souvenir tourist trap by the bus disappearing down the road with the hubby and teenage kids. Meaning to hitchhike back home, Rosalba chooses to be diverted to Venice, a city she's always dreamed of visiting. Once there, she extends her stay by finding lodging and a job, but her postcards home do not give specific details. Her husband, Mimmo (Antonio Catania), is incensed. However, his anger seems less fueled by his wife's absence per se than the fact that his mistress won't iron his shirts in the meantime. ("I'm your mistress, not your wife!")
This Italian production is filled with attractive and quirky characters. Rosalba herself is beautiful and sexy in a mature sort of way. (She might not appeal to the young bucks, but she looks pretty good to these 50+ year old eyes!). Then there's Fernando, the world weary, suicidal waiter who invites her to take over a vacant room in his apartment. Fermo the florist is the ancient anarchist who gives her a job in his flower shop. Grazia, Rosalba's new friend down the hall from Fernando's flat, is an unlucky-at-love "holistic beautician and masseuse". Best of all in a supporting role is Giuseppe Battiston as Costantino, the fat plumber hired by Mimmo to go to Venice and track down the errant spouse. Though Costantino's only qualification for the quest is the large number of detective stories he's read, he's certainly game, inspired probably by a desperate desire to get away from his over-protective mother.
The movie was filmed largely in Venice. Refreshingly, the director chose as his stage many parts of the city far off the beaten tourist track, as well as more recognizable landmarks.
I liked BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY much more because the acting was better, the emotions rawer, and the dilemma faced by Meryl Streep more immediate. However, because BREAD AND TULIPS has a sunnier ending, perhaps it's a better choice for a light-hearted afternoon at the flicks. Bravissimo!
51 Where else but in Venezia???
"La Serenissima"...where fantasy abounds and romance awaits at every turn, even in Venice's back streets and hidden "calli." Licia Maglietta's expressive face really lights up this film, although all of the performances are strong. She has the charisma of a slightly-younger Norma Aleandro, and her comic timing is just about perfect. The film is peopled with wonderfully quirky characters and is very funny, especially if you're a student of the Italian language. I give it my highest rating (two wire whisks and a chicken leg.)
52 A CHARMING ROMANTIC COMEDY - VIVA VENICE!
Forget flurrying pigeons, St. Mark's, Florian's tables, all the standard fare usually delivered by films set in Venice. Silvio Soldini's deftly masterful "Bread and Tulips" is instead an ethereal Venezia, a triptych of shadows, echoes and lights that evoke a city of workers, narrow stone studded streets, mini bridges and interlocking canals.
It is a place that Rosalba (Licia Maglietta) cannot resist. She is an under estimated, unappreciated middle-age housewife and mother of two teenage sons who is on a family vacation to the Adriatic coast. When Rosalba exits the ladies room during a rest stop she sees the back bumper of the tour bus as it trundles down the road without her.
Her husband is Mimmo (Antonio Catania), a self-centered boor who dallies with his mistress and oversees a plumbing business in Pescara. She immediately contacts him by cell phone and is lambasted for being left behind. She agrees to wait there, but evidently ready for a vacation of her own choosing she makes her way to Venice.
After her evening arrival she has dinner at a modest trattoria where she meets Fernando (Bruno Ganz), an Icelander, a despondent waiter who is prone to suicide attempts. (He keeps a noose handy). Ganz's artfully understated portrayal of Fernando is superb.
When Rosalba allows that she is short on funds Fernando invites her to share his lodgings, where she is greeted each morning with a note from him as well as breakfast on a tray. Eventually, she finds work with an elderly florist and becomes friends with her neighbor, Grazia (Marina Massironi), a wide-eyed, other worldly masseuse. The emergence of Rosalba as a confident woman is a joy to watch as her eyes dance and features soften with radiant allure.
When Mimmo's mistress refuses to iron his shirts, he hires Costantino (Giuseppe Battiston), an unemployed wanna be detective to track down his wife. Costantino's arrival in Venice provides some of the film's better comic moments as he searches for a hotel and Rosalba.
When Costantino is able to trace Rosalba to her room, he meets Grazia and falls under her spell. Love's rocky path has more twists and turns when Costantino confesses why he really came to Venice.
Apparently conscience stricken Rosalba returns to her nonchalant sons and indifferent husband. Fernando is left more mournful than ever with only a note and a bouquet of tulips. Or, is he?
"Bread and Tulips" is a charming romantic comedy that leaves one sighing contentedly, hoping for a trip to Venice and maybe even breakfast on a tray.
53 3 1/2 stars for Shirley Valentine Venetian-Style
Silvio Soldini's "Bread and Tulips" shares many of the concerns of the English movie and play "Shirley Valentine." In both films an unappreciated housewife "flys the coop" and ventures out to find a new life for herself. In this case Rosalba Barletti (Licia Maglietta) is on tour with family and friends in Greece and is left stranded in a roadside gas station because no one notices that she is missing when the tour proceeds forward. And her husband and two teenage sons are on tour with her! Pretty sad stuff. But the mood of this film is not to dwell on the negative but on the positive of this situation and soon Rosalba is off to Venice to start a new life and to pursue those things she feels is missing from hers: adventure, romance and appreciation. On the home front her husband, Mimmo (Antonio Catania) rants and raves like he lost his wallet instead of his wife and his two sons merely shrug the whole situation off. At this point, because we have come to care about her (and this is the cinema magic of the screenwriter and director), we are rooting for Rosalba to go for it and she does. She finds a job in a flower shop (hence the tulips), finds lodging with a strange waiter named Fernando (Bruno Ganz) and makes friends with a neighbor, Grazia who does holistic massage (!). All of this is done in high style with little notice to rhyme or reason but this is acceptable in this type of film. (I think it is interesting to note that we here in the US get to see very few Italian movies of late with "Malena" being the exception. Why is that?) This film is resolved in fairy-tale style with everyone literally living "happily ever after." "Bread and Tulips" is fun and satisfying if you don't try to make too much of it. Go with a pal, sneak in some Asti-Spumanti,some prosciutto and bread and have a good time with Rosalba and company.
