Tea with Mussolini Movie Review 1999

Semiautobiographical account of director Zeffirelli's own childhood in fascist Italy. In 1935, young Luca (Lucas) is abandoned by his mother and his neglectful father is happy when the boy is taken in by a group of middleaged, eccentric Englishwomen, including Mary (Plowright), Lady Hester (Smith), and Arabella (Dench). Soon, their group is joined by flamboyantly wealthy (and Jewish) American Elsa (Cher). But as Mussolini consolidates his power and WWII begins, Luca is sent away to school, and the women find themselves unwelcome foreigners.

Distribution

MGM Home Entertainment, 2500 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90404-6061, Phone: (310)449-3000, Fax: (310)449-3100, URL: http://www.mgmhomevideo.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 116 minutes.
Originally from Italian, British.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Childhood Visions, Florence, Female Bonding, Period Piece: 1930s, World War II, Parenthood

Screenplay

Franco Zeffirelli, John Mortimer

Cast

Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Cher, Baird Wallace, Charlie Lucas, Lily Tomlin, Paolo Seganti, Massimo Ghini, Claudio Spadaro

Cinematography

David Watkin

Director

Franco Zeffirelli

Music

Alessio Vlad, Stefano Arnaldi

Producer

Clive Parsons, Medusa, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures

Awards

British Acad. 1999: Support. Actress (Smith).