Mauro Bolognini Movies

An uneven mix of right-on situations and two-dimensional characters or worse, La Giornata Balorda is all the more interesting because it was banned in Italy -- not because of sexual or anti-religious content, but because of its depiction of Italian society. David (Jean Sorel) is a poverty-stricken young man who has impregnated the woman he loves and now wants to marry her. The baby has already been born when David sets out to "buy" a job. His uncle, not a model of propriety, gets him introduced to a slick operator who really does not want to hire David at all. But the future employer's mistress takes one look at David and lets her lover know he just has to give him a job. Meanwhile, David is still stuck with the problem of getting the money together to "buy" his job, and he solves that in a rather creative manner. This story of networking among the non-yuppy population did not sit well with the Italian censors. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Directed by the comparatively unknown Mauro Bolognini, the Italian Bell' Antonio is distinguished by its screenplay, cowritten by directorial giant Pier Paolo Pasolini. Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale are happily married until she finds out he's impotent. It takes her a year to find this out, which ought to give an indication of how seriously we're supposed to take this film. Also risible is the fact that Mastrioanni bears the reputation of a fabulous lover, as do practically all the members of his family. Nonetheless, he stands by like a dummy when Cardinale's father forces her to annul the marriage and wed another. It's all nonsense, of course, but Pasolini and his collaborators weave their tale so persuasively that one forgives the film's utter lack of credibility. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At almost two hours, this mediocre comedy by director Mauro Bolognini runs a bit long. The story is about a down-and-out husband and wife, forced to look anywhere for a place to live. They have children and are desperate enough to take whatever they can find. What the father finds -- without telling his family -- is a closed-down house of ill repute. They move in but the father is hard put to constantly hide the truth about their lodgings, in one way or another. It is this sole pursuit of disguising where they are that fuels the comedy, at times naturally veering into the risque -- or as some viewers might feel, into plain bad taste. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The title of this Italian slice-of-life drama translates to Young Husbands. The husbands in question rather casually enter into marriage, never intending true fidelity to their spouses. When they realize that they're committed for life, our immature heroes return to their home town for one last fling. In the course of their final hours of bachelorhood, they come to the sobering conclusion that their carefree youth is not only past, it's already long past. Somewhat reminiscent of Fellini's I Vitelloni, Giovani Mariti boasts excellent performances from all concerned. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide