Plot

Silvio Soldino directs this gentle comedy about a housewife who temporarily flees from the grinding tedium of her household duties and drifts into a world of amicable weirdos. When Rosalba (Licia Maglietta) is accidentally forgotten by her tour bus at a roadside restaurant, she does not wait there as instructed. She decides to hitchhike home, but on a whim, she ends up in Venice instead. Quietly exhilarated at the prospect of being alone for a spell, she checks into an inn run by a kindly yet eccentric Icelander (Bruno Ganz). Her plans to return the next day are thwarted when she misses her train and does not have enough money to buy another ticket. Soon she is gainfully employed at a flower shop run by an irascible old anarchist. Though her teenaged sons do not seem all that bothered by their mom's absence, Rosalba's husband grows increasing agitated at the interruption in his routine, so he hires a bumbling detective to track her down. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Review

A kissing cousin of Lewis Gilbert's Shirley Valentine, Bread and Tulips is housewife revolt at its most passive, and romantic comedy at its most slight. As Rosalba (Licia Maglietta) becomes gradually unhinged from her existence as a disrespected mother and wife, the viewer senses her liberation without feeling the urge to celebrate it. This agreeable indifference points to an ingrained detachment that the film can't shake, even as it quickens the plodding pace and grows more enjoyably eccentric in the telling. Its strong suit is the flawed humanity of its central characters: the lonely restaurant owner with the extensive vocabulary, the new agey neighbor/ditzy masseuse, and the hapless plumber turned private eye (who is constantly hectored by the manic serenade of his mobile phone). The film's weakness, however, is what it does with them, or rather doesn't do, over the course of a lengthy yet surprisingly surface-level character study. Atmosphere and tone make up for some of this deficit, but Venice is not the vibrant character it could have been, either -- especially since it serves as a repository for all of Rosalba's deferred yearnings. Silvio Soldino's quiet film has the refreshing quality -- but also the lingering impact -- of a mild breeze. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

Cast

• Licia Maglietta - Rosalba
• Bruno Ganz - Fernando
• Marina Massironi - Grazia
• Antonio Catania - Mimmo

Felice Andreasi - Fermo; Giuseppe Battiston

Credit

Paola Bizzarri - Art Director, Jorgelina Depetris - Casting, Silvia Nebiolo - Costume Designer, Silvio Soldini - Director, Carlotta Cristiani - Editor, Giovanni Venosta - Composer (Music Score), Luca Bigazzi - Cinematographer, Daniele Maggioni - Producer, Maurizio Argentieri - Sound/Sound Designer, Doriana Leondeff - Screenwriter, Silvio Soldini - Screenwriter

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