Tea with Mussolini
| Tea with Mussolini | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Franco Zeffirelli |
| Produced by | Clive Parsons Riccardo Tozzi Giovannella Zannoni Frederick Muller Marco Chimenz Pippo Pisciotto |
| Screenplay by | John Mortimer |
| Story by | Franco Zeffirelli (autobiography) |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Stefano Arnaldi Alessio Vlad |
| Cinematography | David Watkin |
| Edited by | Tariq Anwar |
| Distributed by | G2 Films |
|
Release date
|
26 March 1999 (Italy) 2 April 1999 (UK) 14 May 1999 (US & Canada) |
|
Running time
|
117 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom Italy |
| Language | English Italian |
| Budget | $12 million |
| Box office | $45,566,200 (US only) |
Tea with Mussolini is a 1999 Anglo-Italian semi-autobiographical film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, scripted by John Mortimer, telling the story of a young Italian boy's upbringing by a circle of British and American women before and during the Second World War.
The film begins in 1935 in Florence, Italy, where a group of cultured expatriate English women – called the "Scorpioni" by the Italians – meet for tea every afternoon. Young Luca (Charlie Lucas) is the illegitimate son of an Italian businessman (Massimo Ghini) who shows little interest in his son's upbringing; the boy's mother, a dressmaker, has recently died. Mary Wallace (Joan Plowright), who works as the man's secretary, steps in to care for him, turning for support to her Scorpioni friends, including eccentric would-be artist Arabella (Judi Dench). Together, they teach Luca many lessons about life and especially the arts. Elsa Morganthal (Cher), a brash rich young American widow whom Scorpioni matron Lady Hester Random (Maggie Smith) barely tolerates, sets up a financial trust for Luca when she learns of the death of his mother, whom she was fond of and to whom Elsa still owes money for her dressmaking services.
One day when the ladies are in a restaurant for afternoon tea, it is vandalised by Fascists, reflecting the increasingly uncertain position of the expatriate community. Lady Hester, widow of Britain's former ambassador to Italy, retains an admiring faith in Benito Mussolini (Claudio Spadaro) and takes it upon herself to visit him, receiving his insincere assurances of their safety, and proudly recounts her "tea with Mussolini". But the political situation continues to deteriorate and the Scorpioni find their status and liberties diminishing. Luca's father decides that Italy's future is with Germany rather than Britain and sends Luca to an Austrian boarding school.
...
Wikipedia