CIAO, PROFESSORE!
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1994 Ben Hoffman
What a delightful, heart-warming, film! What a dedicated teacher and what a bunch of irresistible third grade rascals he inherits as his students ... just as soon as he can round them up from their busy work schedules.
Professore Spetelli (Paulo Villaggio) is the maestro who finds himself in a suburb of Naples in southern Italy. He had asked to be assigned to the town of Corsano but through a computer error he is appointed to teach at Corzano where the Mafia rules, where his students are truants who work in the barber shop, the gas station, engage in the black market and are priming themselves to graduate to the Mafia. Maestro Spetelli involves himself with the students and, eventually, they with him in this hilarious yet poignant film.
Villaggio is wonderful; the kindness shines from his face. The young boys and girls are uninhibited in their language and their acting is astonishingly superb. Put that all together, hand the reins over to a great director, and you come up with perhaps the best film so far this year.
Directed beautifully by Lina Wertmuller.
In Italian with English subtitles.
4 bites 4 Bytes = Absolutely must see. 3 Bytes = Too good to be missed. 2 Bytes = So so. 1 Byte = Save your money.
ben.hoffman@bcsbbs.com
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