Sophia Loren is a Naples beauty who marries Marcello Mastroianni on the spur of the moment just before he goes off to World War II and spends years after it ends trying to find him. She ends up in Russia where what she discovers breaks her heart, leads her into a new life, but it is not over yet.
This personal story of war could have happened to thousands of women (at least) and is told tenderly with a beautiful musical score by Henry Mancini and with sincere performances. A few of the details are rather far-fetched or unresolved, such as when Marcello Mastroianni comes back to visit his aging mother and never does. Also, how Loren initially finds Loren is really a bit beyond belief. What makes the film special is that it reminds us that no matter what side of the war one might be on, there are always heartbreaks, even if it comes to someone inside the enemy camp.
This personal story of war could have happened to thousands of women (at least) and is told tenderly with a beautiful musical score by Henry Mancini and with sincere performances. A few of the details are rather far-fetched or unresolved, such as when Marcello Mastroianni comes back to visit his aging mother and never does. Also, how Loren initially finds Loren is really a bit beyond belief. What makes the film special is that it reminds us that no matter what side of the war one might be on, there are always heartbreaks, even if it comes to someone inside the enemy camp.