Directed by: Lina Wertmuller
With: Sofia Loren, Giancarlo Giannini
Duration: 125 mins

Lina Wertmuller’s plush period drama stars the ever luminous Sophia Loren as a mother who thinks of marriage in terms of business and a daughter (Claudia Gerini) who has her own unusual ideas about love.

In Campania, at the end of the 19th century, Francesca (Loren), the daughter of pasta makers, was a commoner whose beauty so entranced Prince Giordano Montorsi (Giancarlo Giannini) that he took her hand in marriage. They had nine children, but also adopted an angelic, nine-year-old named Nunziata, who quickly formed a strong bond with Francesca, the two sharing many traits. Years later, the family has fallen on hard times, and Francesca begins to broker a marriage between her eldest son Federico (Raoul Bova) and the daughter of a wealthy shipping tycoon. However, Federico is less than enthusiastic about the idea, largely because he instantly fell in love with the now very attractive Nunziata (Gerini), when he returned from his studies in London. Francesca is appalled at this and continues with the profitable marriage plans for her son, but the equally savant schemer Nunziata has her own ideas...

Not screening in Canberra