Reviews

I never tire of seeing this film with its repeated line, "There is no wine" from Bombolini. Anthony Quinn shows his comedy character acting skills as he acts in scenes with wife, daughter and the town council. He acts the hero when is is "interrogated" by the tough guys. The only time I find fault is when he throws himself to the ground and acts the imbecile - not part of Bombolini as a character I think.

It must be said, however, that Hardy Kruger as the German commanding officer of the troops who come to occupy the town and steal its wine, is the perfect choice. Eventually he leaves town after the population have foiled his efforts to take the precious wine stocks. He turns to them in defeat, "What kind of people are you?" During the process of transporting the wine via a chain of citizens to the cave the camera shows many local faces that are utterly convincing. They are lived in, hard worn, determined faces of people who will not be beaten.

For anyone seeking to visit Santa Vittoria when in Italy - don't expect to see street scenes that you remember. They used another nearby town, whose name escapes me, for the location. However, I understand the extras were all local people.

I certainly enjoyed this quality movie. The entire cast looked as if they had lived where they were for years. Maggie Smith has played some monumental parts in her career, but this was surely her best. Totally convincing as the alcoholic looking for something to enhance her life and give it meaning, she acted gently and convincingly throughout. The late Ronnie Barker played a part which might have been made for him. A soft,undemanding role, but played brilliantly by one of the United Kingdom's most underrated actors. Aimee was the orphaned child supplying a deep felt need by her temporary guardian (Maggie Smith)and the part was well played by this young actress. Timothy Spall, as an Irishman, for once, was entirely convincing in this supporting, but important role. I felt this was a film which showed his acting talents off very well. The one part in the cast which I felt was not quite believable was the Italian detective. Having said this, the part was well played, but it was not what I would have expected from a policeman in any country. Real policeman intrude and I thought the part was written more like a fond uncle. Overall I was glad to have seen this movie because it was memorable and of excellent quality