A Special Day (1977)
★★★★ — A Special Day (1977)
Ettore Scola directed this Italian-Canadian co-production in 1977, at a point in his career when he was cementing a reputation as one of Italian cinema's more politically engaged filmmakers, having already made "We All Loved Each Other So Much" (1974) and heading towards "Dirty Hands" (1978). The film is set almost entirely within a single Roman apartment building on 6 May 1938, the day of Hitler's official state visit to Rome, a historical event that allows Scola to examine Fascist Italy's social machinery without staging anything on a grand scale. The casting of Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni together was a deliberate piece of counter-programming, stripping two of Italy's most glamorous stars of their usual lustre to portray quiet, marginalised lives.
A-Z World Movie Tour Canada Somehow this is a Canada/Italy production so I'm counting it for Canada. This is the story of two people who are battered down by societal norms that negatively affect their lives. Gabriele is gay, in a society and time that behaved barbarically towards homosexuals and Antionetta is in a marriage where her husband doesn't treat her with love and affection, doesn't help with the kids, and she's supposed to just accept that role. She wants to be loved. The problem is, she pursues Gabriele and is rebuked. When they discover they're kindred spirits it's a beautiful exchange of experience between them with the type of realistic dialogue that you don't see in movies that often. Meanwhile the fascist Nazi regime is blaring in through their windows, so oppression is literally all around them even though they've shut themselves away. The cinematography is likewise extremely beautiful. At times it's sepia tones and others there are flashings of reds and greens. They've tried to capture a time and place. The only reason I gave this film a 4* is because while I can appreciate it's beauty and it's masterful delivery, it's just not to my taste. It's like sushi. I can appreciate the skill, craft and delicacy but it's not something I necessarily would choose to eat.
Rating: ★★★★ | Year: 1977 | Watched: 2025-06-04
Where to watch (UK)
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Italy: Nightmare City (1980) · Cemetery Man (1994) · One Way or Another (1975) · Chicken for Linda! (2023)
More from the 1970s: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Here and Elsewhere (1976) · Italianamerican (1974) · Punishment Park (1971)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)
More romance: The Eagle (1925) · The Last Picture Show (1971) · The General (1926) · The Docks of New York (1928)
