Me and italian movie #1

Yesterday i had planned the start of Italian Movie Week. I started it on a Friday, because so i have all the weekend ahead. I am already bored with typically American movies, the plot and the ending of which is more or less predictable. I wanted something new and innovative for a change. Plus to that, YES I CAN watch movies in italian now, even if it is with subtitles, but given the accent of the characters, it is acceptable. So, with Hugo Bob in position, with my snack next to me ( i couldn't help it), with the downloaded subtitles and the "miau"-ing Italians outside my door (don't ask), I engaged in a 1:47 h journey through the typical italian. As if i had not had enough of that these months.
My search over the internet for italian movies was mostly in Mininova, as the rest of the torrent sites are flooded with the usual "jack meets kate" type of american movies. Without knowing which movies are the recommended ones, i went with my intuition and my logic - i chose the movies that give most results when they are Google-d, the movies that have the best comments - although it is a shame that IMDB has such a poor description of the non-american movies (how egocentristic can the US be??) and, of course, the movies with the most seeders/leechers.
"Non ci resta che piangere" - "There is nothing else to do but cry". Sounds promising? It is. And no, it is not about love and broken hearts. It is a movie directed by the two main actors Roberto Benigni and Massimo Troisi, the first is is an Academy Award-winning Italian film and television actor, writer and director who has more awards than i could count scrolling down his biography. The second is the same, excluding the Television part and substituting the writer part with poet. So 2 great personalities create a basically 2 actor movie, with a simple plot, simple decor, fancy clothes and genuine lines. The movie was a success at the "botteghino", i mean at the box-office, back in 85.
It is a comedy, and it really felt like one. Have i mentioned the simplicity? I have? Well, let me say that again, it is a comedy that seems so modest and that is why it is funny, as it does not try to be overly amusing. It also displays element of black humor, and oh, i love that:)
The watcher can identify with the persons in the film, as they are not super heroes or super intelligent human beings that end-up saving the world Bruce Willis like. No, these are simple people that find themselves in a tough situation but who deal with it as any one of us would, first with fear and disbelief, then with courage and humor, as when there is nothing else to do but cry, a little laughter does not hurt anyone.
The main questions of the movie are what would you do if you were to meet a great personality of the past, let's say, Leonardo DaVinci? Would you try to explain him the basics about a currents, semaphores, capitalism, locomotives and Oedipus complex? Would you try and teach him how to play cards? What about Cristofor Columbus? If you were to be in the 14'th century - 1492, but almost 1500 as it is stated various times in the movie, would you tell him that there was no way he could get straight to India by crossing the Atlantic and that he would stumble upon America? Would you try to stop him, as the 2 characters in the movie tried? They kept asking themselves what good did the US bring to the world in these years... "The electric chair?" - says Troisi. "Is that a good thing???"- replies Benigni. "The Beatles!" tries Troisi again. "They were English." - cuts him off Benigni.
Also, if you were in the 15 century, what would you try to invent? You at the moment have a lot of knowledge about how things should be, and for example if you find yourself in the past (a purely hypothetical situation) you would surely know what things are missing from the picture. But are you really able to invent them? Actually make them?? The characters went through a list of things they could "invent" and thus make some money and gain some authority and recognition. But starting with the lamp, after deciding they had to invent electricity first, they went over to the to the WC, but that did not work either, as inventing the utility was easy, while constructing the sewering system was a little bit more tricky. Not even songs could they "invent" - Yesterday sounded something like " YesterdaY... bambambaambabababababababam.... tralalalalala ... far away.... oh yesterday.... bambam baba.....".
Well, most of us would do slightly better in the 15th century than the 2 characters.... on the singing part. I say watch the movie. I liked it. It's a thumbs up:)