24 reactions
"Tea with Mussolini (Italian: Un tè con Mussolini ) is a 1999 semi-autobiographical comedy-drama war film directed by Franco Zeffirelli , scripted by John Mortimer , telling the story of a young Italian boy's upbringing by a circle of British and American women before and during the Second World War .
"At the 53rd British Academy Film Awards , Tea with Mussolini won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role ( Maggie Smith ). The film was also nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design but lost to Sleepy Hollow .
PLOT
"The film begins in 1935 in Florence , where a group of cultured expatriate English women – the " Scorpioni " – meet for tea every afternoon. Young Luca is the illegitimate son of an Italian businessman who's little interested in his son's upbringing; the boy's seamstress mother has recently died.
"Mary Wallace, the man's secretary, steps in to care for Luca, seeking support from her Scorpioni friends, including eccentric would-be artist Arabella. They teach Luca about life and the arts. Elsa Morganthal, a rich young American widow whom Scorpioni matron Lady Hester Random barely tolerates, sets up a financial trust for Luca when she hears his mother has died, as she was fond of her and still owes her money for her dressmaking services.
"One day when the ladies are taking afternoon tea, Italian Fascists disrupt them, reflecting the increasingly uncertain position of the expatriate community. Lady Hester, widow of Britain's former ambassador to Italy, retains an admiring faith in Benito Mussolini . She visits him, receiving his assurances of their safety, and proudly recounts her "tea with Mussolini". – more at #wikipedia
"At the 53rd British Academy Film Awards , Tea with Mussolini won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role ( Maggie Smith ). The film was also nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design but lost to Sleepy Hollow .
PLOT
"The film begins in 1935 in Florence , where a group of cultured expatriate English women – the " Scorpioni " – meet for tea every afternoon. Young Luca is the illegitimate son of an Italian businessman who's little interested in his son's upbringing; the boy's seamstress mother has recently died.
"Mary Wallace, the man's secretary, steps in to care for Luca, seeking support from her Scorpioni friends, including eccentric would-be artist Arabella. They teach Luca about life and the arts. Elsa Morganthal, a rich young American widow whom Scorpioni matron Lady Hester Random barely tolerates, sets up a financial trust for Luca when she hears his mother has died, as she was fond of her and still owes her money for her dressmaking services.
"One day when the ladies are taking afternoon tea, Italian Fascists disrupt them, reflecting the increasingly uncertain position of the expatriate community. Lady Hester, widow of Britain's former ambassador to Italy, retains an admiring faith in Benito Mussolini . She visits him, receiving his assurances of their safety, and proudly recounts her "tea with Mussolini". – more at #wikipedia
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Thank you for this. For some odd reason this film has been on my mind. And I never watched it before!
It's entertaining and displays the values of a bygone age. Some would say misplaced confidence; some call it arrogance. In the face of adversity, it's called survival. I hope you enjoy it.