BERLINGUER, I LOVE YOU (Berlinguer: Ti Voglio Bene) (1977) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Giuseppe Bertolucci

Written by - Roberto Benigni, Giuseppe Bertolucci

Starring - Roberto Benigni, Alida Valli

"Berlinguer, I Love You marked the feature debut of both director Giuseppe Bertolucci and Roberto Benigni, and was based on a play on which they had previously collaborated. It chronicles the everyday struggles of a young man, his sexual desires, his political conscience and his Freudian relationship with his mother. 

It seems to make no mystery of the fact that it is structured around the comedic characteristics of its leading man, and yet the country humour takes on some provocative psychological and even political themes work quite well. Furthermore, the film feels intuitive, also due to clever use of improvisation, and despite some excesses and an occasionally frustrating lack of focus, it is well able to surprise the viewer the viewer with some well choreographed sequences."

Comedy, Italy