THE ICICLE THIEF Movie Review

Ladri di Saponette

A movie director (Maurizio Nichetti) is invited to host an Italian TV station's screening of one of his classic, neo-realist films: The Icicle Thief (Ladri di saponette). The black-and-white movie about an impoverished family (a movie-within-a-movie parody of De Sica's The Bicycle Thief) is constantly being interrupted by commercials—all in color—but the worst is yet to come; a power glitch at the studio causes characters from the commercials to appear in the film, and vice-versa. Nichetti wrote, directed, and starred in what is essentially a clever and imaginative idea for a short subject; the problem is that it's 90 minutes long. The Icicle Thief goes down relatively easily for a gag that's so over-extended, but you get impatient once you see where Nichetti's headed. It's a harmless diversion. (The visual effects look a bit clunky now, but may seem a little less crude on the more forgiving small screen. Nichetti's subsequent Volere Volare is less successful still, and features a similar plot gimmick involving a sound-effects man who becomes a cartoon character.)

NEXT STOP… Volere Volare, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Sherlock Jr.

1989 93m/C IT Maurizio Nichetti, Cateria Sylos Labini, Claudio G. Fava, Renato Scarpa, Heidi Komarek; D: Maurizio Nichetti; W: Maurizio Nichetti; C: Mario Battistoni; M: Manuel De Sica. VHS FXL, FCT