Domenick Tambasco Movies

The English title of this complex Italian film is apt. Featuring 65 main characters and 130 speaking parts (famous faces abound and many of the actors appeared gratis), and ranging in tone from tartly humorous to darkly tragic, it presents 30 interwoven slices from the lives of modern day Romans during a single day. The lone, silent figure of a lone jogger provides a sort of continuity between the vignettes. Beginning at sunset of the previous day, the jogger is seen warming up on his apartment terrace, looking for all the world as if he would like to jump. The rest of the stories seem to be randomly presented. Stories include the robbery of a Chinese restaurant that causes a birthday celebrant to die of fright, two different newlyweds who find themselves attracted to each other, an opportunistic mechanic's plan to capitalize on the death of a rival, a sneaky, sadistic meter maid and others. One uniting feature of the stories is their underlying bitter assessment of modern humanity. People are seen as selfish and basically cruel, still the stories move quickly and the balance between humor and drama, affection and cynicism, and shallowness and complexity is carefully maintained. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Stefania (Margherita Buy) is having her own troubles with her marriage, and the troubled romance between Marilu (Barbara Jane Ricassa), her Filipina nanny, and a local plumber (Raoul Bova) only highlights her own concerns. Her husband (Massimo Ghini) used to be full of the fire of political convictions, but has lost his belief in much of anything. Perhaps this is an occupational hazard for political journalists, but it doesn't help Stefania much. She has a job dubbing an Argentine soap opera into Italian for television, so if she had to she could set out on her own. Somehow, she and her husband struggle through their difficulties, and are able to smooth the way for Marilu as well. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide