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Customer Reviews
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Tea with Mussolini
I am a big fan of Judy Dench and Maggie Smith, and Joan Plowright. This was a great movie. Great job of casting.
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MEMOIR VALENTINE TO AN OLD ITALY
As memoirs go, this is one of those "life films", the kind that have no immediately discernible plot but ride instead on the charm of their vignettes and characters. The ensemble cast hardly needs a spiel. Suffice it to say that fans won't be disappointed as all of them realize their eccentric characters with joyfully unmitigated indulgence. They're blithe, they're insouciant, and they strut their stuff with elan. It's a comical but inspiring scene when our happy band stands up to the Germans.
What's more, the sense of time and place is impeccable. Italy itself is practically a character. Expect travelogue-worthy shots of Florence. The calendar says 1935, that haunting time of a Europe sandwiched between the wars. Even before the first sounding of tanks or dictators, in every word and deed there is just the slightest trace of irresolution, an uneasiness.
Impatient viewers stand warned: this is a mood piece that unravels quite leisurely, meanders almost, using its entire first half for character exposition and sowing little story details. But viewers with an eye for culturally uplifting entertainment will find that Tea With Mussolini hits the spot with great aplomb.
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tea with mussolini
ACTUALLY I HAD ORDERED ONE DVD, BUT I RECEIVED TWO OF THE SAME AND WAS
BILLED TWICE. THE REASON I DID NOT RETURN ONE OF THE THE DVD'S WAS
BECAUSE OF THE EXTRA SHIPPING COST (WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN ON ME).
SO ALL TOGETHER, I WAS NOT TOO HAPPY.
VAIKE MELENDEZ
DANZIGER STR.8
55774 BAUMHOLDER
GERMANY
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Tea With Mussolini
I first discovered Cher could act when I saw her in "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean." Tea continues to confirm her abilities. The movie has all of my favorite actresses: Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Lilly Tomlin. I have often said I could watch Maggie Smith or Judi Dench read a phone book and be enthralled. A Franco Zeffirelli film is always a sumptuous feast not to be missed.
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Denial is indeed, not just a river in Egypt
It's a wonderful happenstance that the British attitude
toward Italian Fascism coincides so wonderfully with the
apparent blindness of the English ladies who are out to
have tea with Mussolini.
It is true that Mussolini's alliance with Hitler was by
no means a foregone conclusion and that Italian Fascism
was very different from the German variety. It was particularly
much less racist, being colored by the multiethnic background
of the Italians themselves.
So politically, Britain was not initially fearful of Mussolini.
There was also a prevailing attitude of condescension toward
Italy and its people before the war. Many Britains thought
that 'having the trains run on time' was just what the
benighted Italians needed.
So the diplomatic shock is mirrored in the small world of ladies
living on their trusts in Florence. They deny, they cope,
and ultimately they respond with noblesse oblige and courage.
There are some fine performances here. Judy Dench is such a
good actress that she's past acting. The show however, is
stolen by Cher who belies her pop-star/campy image with
another smart and sensitive interpretation of a character.
Some critics have objected that she was merely playing herself,
but what a self to play!
The story is just a bit sappy and also a bit calculated, but
this is a beautiful movie-a feast for the eyes and a reminder
of the dangers of taking things at face value.
--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the novel bang BANG. ISBN 9781601640005
