Dear Michael Movie Review

The excellent Italian picture Dear Michael explores the wanderings of Mara, a gypsyish mother (Mariangela Melato) and her baby. Mara has an idea who the father is, and spends her time moving in and out of the homes of his friends and relatives. Melato, so effective in the Lina Wertmuller films Seduction of Mimi, Love and Anarchy, Swept Away, and Summer Night…, wrings enormous sympathy out of her role here. Her ability to add new dimensions to her sometimes unbearable characters are truly imaginative. Whether she's breaking up with a lover who cannot stand her, scolding an impatient cab driver, or enduring a boring social evening with a group of “intellectuals,” Melato provides Dear Michael with its funniest and most human moments. Director Mario Monicelli and screenwriters Suso Cecchi D'Amico and Tonino Guerra skillfully blend Mara's story into that of her former lover's family. With the addition of superb, understated performances by the late Delphine Seyrig, Aurore Clement, and particularly Fabio Carpi as one of Mara's befuddled lovers, Dear Michael is among the most memorable films of 1976. Melato's other films on video include: By the Blood of Others, To Forget Venice, So Fine, and Dancers. AKA: Caro Michele.

1976 108m/C IT Mariangela Melato, Delphine Seyrig, Aurore Clement, Lou Castel, Marcella Michelangeli, Fabio Carpi; D: Mario Monicelli; W: Suso Cecchi D'Amico, Tonino Guerra; C: Tonino Delli Colli; M: Nino Rota.