Enzo Jannacci Movies

In an irreverent send up of politicians and feminists and others, director and co-writer Lina Wertmuller has a Minister of the Interior locked inside his impermeable luxury car with only his broken computer to keep him company. Unfortunately, this accident happens at the villa of a conservative party deputy (Ugo Tognazzi) whose wildly eccentric wife Maria Teresa (Piera Degli Espositi) is in a panic about hiding her lover (Enzo Jannacci) in the basement -- he is an escaped terrorist. While the authorities arrive to make one futile effort after another to get the Minister out of his car, the Minister's assistant deadpans his way through the household chaos, and the granny is busy smoking pot. Out of the entire crew, the conservative deputy is limned with sympathy and the flighty, witless feminist is not -- a state of affairs bound to raise the shackles of some viewers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Living a well-to-do life in the Italian sector of Switzerland, Alfredo (Omero Antonutti) longs for a return to the environment of his childhood, and to that end, takes his family off to visit his native mountain village every weekend. While they are not so happy about that arrangement -- after all, his present home in the city is the childhood environment of his own two youngsters -- Alfredo seems to feel that his roots matter more than anything else, possibly more than staying with his job in the city. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmuller directs the black comedy Pasqualino Settebellezze (Seven Beauties). During WWII, Pasqualino Frafuso (Giancarlo Giannini) ends up lost in a dense forest along with fellow army deserter Francesco (Piero De Orio). After they witness a mass execution by German soldiers, Francesco admits his moral opposition to the Nazis and Pasqualino reveals his criminal past in a series of flashbacks. Back in Naples, he was known as "Pasqualino Seven Beauties," a petty thief who lived off the profits of his seven sisters while claiming to protect their honor at any cost. When Totonno (Mario Conti) pimps out his sister Concettina (Elena Fiore), Pasqualino kills him, chops up his body, and mails each piece across the country. He is then arrested and sent to a mental institution, where he commits sexual assault against another patient. Kicked out of the asylum, he is sent to fight in the army. The Germans capture him and he gets sent to a concentration camp. He then plots to make his escape by demoralizing himself in an attempt to seduce a German officer (Shirley Stoler). Seven Beauties was nominated for four Academy Awards in 1977, including Best Foreign Film. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

This tiresome comedy features pop singer Enzo Jannacci as Amedeo, a country rube who comes to Vatican City seeking a personal audience with the Pope. Detailing Amedeo's battle with officious Vatican bureaucrats and bungling attempts to catch the Pope off-guard, the film rarely rises to the level of director Marco Ferreri's more subversive farces and resembles nothing more than a 1970s Neapolitan-style Pauly Shore vehicle. Italian film buffs will still appreciate the cast, which includes Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Piccoli of La Cage aux Folles as well as Claudia Cardinale, Vittorio Gassman, and Alain Cuny. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi