Non Ci Resta Che Piangere

[Cripin Plascencia]

Towardsthe end of the 20th century, Italian cinema becomes a lively laboratory in which questions of national identity are often raised. This is the case, especially with certain political movies of the 1970s (I am thinking about Un borghese piccolo piccolo, directed by Mario Monicelli), but surprisingly, also with some comedies of the 1980s, such as Bianco, Rosso e Verdone, directed by Carlo Verdone. This is the case also with Non ci resta che piangere, one of the most famous Italian comedies of all times, but not well known internationally. The movie came out in 1984 and stars Roberto Benigni (who won an Oscar for Life is Beautiful) and Massimo Troisi (whose movie The Postman won an Oscar for Best Original Music Score, and was nominated for many others). It is usually considered a very funny comedy with hilarious jokes and two comedians who speak two different dialects and still communicate with one another. However, aside from its comedic aspect, the movie sparks a profound reflection on Italian identity and the relationship that Italians have with their past. It is this aspect of the movie, that I intend to investigate in this article.

Here is the inciting incident. From then on, the movie becomes a collection of situations/sketches in which the two protagonists deal with and reflect on their dire, surreal fate. These sketches include: a love story between Mario and a a rich girl from the town; an attempt in writing a letter to Savonarola in order to convince him to change his ways; the decision by Saverio to stop Christopher Columbus from discovering America (for reasons that will be revealed only at the end of the movie); and a funny encounter with Leonardo DaVinci.

The movie, notwithstanding its many flaws, an improvised loose structure, and historical inaccuracies (Columbus journey took place in 1492, while Savonarola started ruling in Florence in 1494) is still revered as one of the best comedies in the history of Italian cinema and was a great success at the box office.

Behind the nonchalance and the slapdash attitude of the authors, however, one can find a deeply desecrating force, a bratty disrespect towards authority, towards the rhetoric of a national ideal built around the presumption of Italian exceptionalism.

What is their rationale behind these actions? In the case of Savonarola, they are mostly driven by the necessity of saving Vitellozzo, the only friend they made in their new life in the past, who has been arrested by the Dominican friar. However, they also know that whatever Savonarola is doing is wrong, and that eventually he will be killed. The letter to Savonarola is one of of the most famous moments in the movie, a moment in which Troisi and Benigni pay homage/reference to two great comedians of the 1950s in Italy, Tot and Peppino De Filippo. These two, in one of their most famous movies, Tot, Peppino e la malafemmina, also have scene in which they write a nonsensical letter to somebody. That reference is very clear to any Italian watching the movie, but is lost on a non-Italian viewer.

Something similar happens with Leonardo. The figure of Da Vinci is stripped of all its glory, and the man is a quiet individual who fails to grasp the concepts that Mario and Saverio try teaching him. To them, he is only like a kid in school who cannot understand the lesson.

Non ci resta che piangere (Nothing Left to Do But Cry) is a 1984 Italian comedy film directed by Roberto Benigni and Massimo Troisi, who are also the stars. The story follows Saverio (Benigni) and Mario (Troisi), a school teacher and a janitor respectively, who get caught in a huge rainstorm in the Tuscan countryside with their car broken down. They find an old-fashioned inn and decide to spend the night, but find themselves in the year 1492 when they wake. After a man in the inn gets murdered, Saverio and Mario are forced to acquaint themselves with the man's family and life in the 15th century, while also trying to find a way out. The pair's constant squabbling and Mario's crush on Pia, a rich woman, only slow them down in their efforts to escape.

Accidental Time Travel: How the two arrive in the 15th century is never explained, and they are likely to never know as they decide to stay there. Anachronism Stew: At the movie's end, the pair think they are back in the twentieth century when they see a locomotive, but then realize it's only because Leonardo da Vinci had just invented it after being inspired by them and they are still in the past. Broken Pedestal: Saverio is excited at first to meet Leonardo and teach him about modern science (see Giving Radio to the Romans below). He is quickly disappointed when Leonardo turns out to be not that smart after all. Butterfly of Doom: Invoked. After seeing Columbus leave for America, Saverio admits he wanted to stop him from leaving because he thought it would prevent the birth of his sister's boyfriend, who left her and broke her heart. Eagle Land: Saverio is a firm believer of the second kind ('Murica the Boorish), and decides to stop Columbus and prevent the creation of the US as a favor to the rest of the world. He later admits that he just hates his sister's American husband, and it's mainly him that he wanted gone. Fish out of Temporal Water: Saverio and Mario deny any time travel happened before being forced to adapt and come to terms with their new life. Future Imperfect: Saverio and Mario find out that history books got some things wrong. While fleeing to Spain, the two learn that Columbus has left for America months before the date in Saverio's school curriculum. They run to the coast to stop him, but it is too late. Leonardo's genius has been greatly exaggerated, to the duo's disappointment when they fail to teach him any advanced science. Until the last scene reveals that Leonard is a genius inventor after all. Get Back to the Future: The movie's main conflict, until they realize there is no way back. Giving Radio to the Romans: When they meet Leonardo, the two decide to share their 20th-century science knowledge with him. Ends up Subverted, since neither of them knows much science, and Leonardo himself is not quit as smart as history made him out to be. Double Subverted at the very end of the movie, when it turns out that Leonardo managed to build a train from the duo's garbled explanation. A Little Something We Call "Rock and Roll": Mario impresses Pia by posing as a musician and singing "Yesterday" and the Italian national anthem. However, he can't remember the correct words to either. This Is My Boomstick: The two try to teach Scopa (an Italian card game created in the 18th century) to Leonardo, but he can't grasp it at all. Time-Travel Romance: Mario's crush on Pia.

Non ci resta che piangere (bra S Nos Resta Chorar[1]) um filme italiano de 1984, dos gneros comdia e fantasia, dirigido e protagonizado por Roberto Benigni e Massimo Troisi, com roteiro de Giuseppe Bertolucci e dos prprios diretores.[1]

Mario (Massimo Troisi) e Saverio (Roberto Benigni) so dois amigos que, aps pegarem uma pequena estrada ao lado de uma cancela ferroviria, acabam se perdendo nas montanhas e voltando no tempo, poca de Leonardo da Vinci. Alm de estranhar os costumes da poca, eles se envolvem em diversas confuses quando fazem contato com personagens histricos da Itlia.

Campagna toscana. Il bidello Mario e il maestro Saverio sono fermi a un passaggio a livello, in attesa che il treno passi. I due sono amici e si confidano a vicenda. Saverio tra l'altro preoccupato per sua sorella Gabriella, caduta in depressione per il fallimento della sua relazione con un ragazzo statunitense. L'attesa si protrae e decidono di percorrere una stradina tra i campi. Dopo un po' restano in panne con l'auto in mezzo alla campagna. Si fa sera, piove. I due trovano alloggio in una locanda per la notte, in cui si notano gi candele, penna e calamaio. Salgono nella stanza e vi trovano gi un'altra persona che dorme.

La mattina dopo, appena svegli, vedono, divertiti, l'ospite Remigio urinare dalla finestra, ma le loro risa vengono subito troncate dal sibilo di una lancia che lo uccide. Mario e Saverio scorgono fuggir via delle persone in mantello nero a cavallo, si precipitano al piano terra e trovano altre persone, vestite in modo molto strano. Increduli, si fanno dire da un uomo dove si trovano e scoprono di trovarsi a Frittole, un immaginario borgo toscano, nel 1492. Ritenendolo dapprima un terribile scherzo, debbono poi rassegnarsi alla dura realt facendosi ospitare da Vitellozzo, il fratello dell'uomo ucciso, Remigio, il quale racconta loro di una terribile faida con un tale Giuliano Del Capecchio, che sta sterminando la sua famiglia. Giunti nel borgo, conoscono Parisina, madre di Vitellozzo e del defunto Remigio e iniziano a lavorare nella loro bottega di macelleria.

Nel contesto rinascimentale del borgo accadono gli episodi pi disparati. Saverio sembra subito a suo agio, mentre Mario non vuole saperne di ambientarsi. Ben presto, per, durante una funzione religiosa, Mario fa la conoscenza di Pia, fanciulla di una famiglia ricca, con la quale inizia a vedersi affacciandosi dal muro di cinta della casa di lei. Nel frattempo Vitellozzo viene arrestato e Saverio e Mario scrivono invano una lettera a Girolamo Savonarola per ottenere la sua liberazione.

Saverio (che continua a dire a Mario di chiedere a Pia se abbia una amica da presentargli) non nasconde un certo fastidio per gli incontri tra Mario e la giovane Pia e si lamenta del fatto che rimane sempre e solo lui a lavorare nella macelleria. Spinto dal suo ardore politico-intellettuale, convince il suo amico a mettersi in viaggio per la Spagna, onde raggiungere Cristoforo Colombo e dissuaderlo dal partire per le Indie e scoprire l'America, in modo che, nel futuro, sua sorella non possa incontrare il ragazzo statunitense che l'ha lasciata. In un luogo imprecisato i due si imbattono in un'amazzone, Astriaha, che li intimidisce scagliando una freccia contro il loro carro.

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