Tea with Mussolini (1999)
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli

Film Review

Director Franco Zeffirelli draws on his childhood recollections of life in Fascist Italy to deliver one of his most intimate films, a tale of war-time resistance in the face of adversity that brims with charm and humanity.  Beautifully scripted by John Mortimer (the celebrated British writer and humorist, best known for his Rumpole stories), Tea with Mussolini is as visually striking and life-affirming as much of Zeffirelli's previous work, but with a touch of bitter irony.  With the help of an extraordinary ensemble cast it exposes the brutality of Mussolini's regime through the almost surreal experiences of a group of genteel but by no means easily cowed old dears who appear to be the living embodiment of Churchillian resolve.  Apart from a few scenes which are marred by some awkward mawkishness, the film is intensely true to life and offers the most enchanting and touchingly humorous tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.

A film that can boast the combined talents of Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith can hardly go wrong, and ably supported by Mortimer's witty and humane screenplay, all three actresses are at their scene-stealing best, collectively making as tough and formidable an opponent as Il Duce ever faced.  Too often crow-barred into films on account of her celebrity as a singer, Cher is a perfect casting choice for the part of the brash, art-loving American who comes to the rescue of the staunch old troopers - her performance (particularly in the later scenes, when her character's world comes crashing down about her) is one that even her most fierce detractors will have difficulty faulting.  The highly capable supporting cast includes Michael Williams (Dench's husband and frequent acting partner) in his final film appearance before his death in 2001.  Tea with Mussolini was a notable critical and commercial hit in 1999 and earned Maggie Smith the Best Supporting Actress award at the BAFTAs in 2000.  An unconventional but captivating tale of resistance, survival and broken illusions, it is easily one of Franco Zeffirelli's warmest and most engaging films.

Film Synopsis

Florence, Italy, 1935.  A group of harmless old English ladies, known by the locals as the Scorpioni, live in happy exile, meeting up to take tea together every afternoon.   These include Mary Wallace, a hard-working secretary who is trying to persuade her employer to adopt his illegitimate son, Luca.  After the death of the boy's mother, Mary takes it upon herself to look after him, and is pleasantly surprised when the rich American widow Elsa Morganthal (detested by the other Scorpioni on account of her wealth and vulgarity) puts some money in trust for Luca's future.  After a Fascist attack disturbs one of their afternoon get-togethers, Lady Hester Random, the widow of a former British ambassador, pays a personal call on the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who offers his assurance that no harm will come to her or any other British national.  Five years later, Italy has thrown its lot in with Nazi Germany and the country is at war with Great Britain.  Having refused to return to their home country, the Scorpioni are rounded up and are taken to the small Tuscan town of San Gimignano, where they are effectively treated as prisoners of war.  Being an American, Elsa is still at liberty and uses her money to buy more comfortable accommodation for the old ladies, whilst using Luca as a messenger boy to deliver fake passports to Italian Jews.  When America enters the war, Elsa, who is also a Jew, ends up being interned with the Scorpioni.  She plans to escape to America, with a passport supplied by her lover Vittorio, but Luca discovers that she is about to walk into a death trap...