A SPECIAL DAY Movie Review

Una Giornata Specials
The Great Day

The day of a huge rally celebrating Hitler's visit to Rome in 1939 serves as the backdrop for an affair between a weary housewife (Sophia Loren) and a lonely, gay radio announcer (Marcello Mastroianni). Marcello and Sophia give it their all, but Ettore Scola's film never ignites. There's a predetermined, schematic feel to the proceedings, which is all the more disappointing—and surprising—considering the many exceptional, spontaneous, lively films Scola has fashioned out of material less compelling than the maudlin A Special Day. Sitting through this movie is like being forced to eat your vegetables; you know that it's good for you—like one of Stanley Kramer's plodding, well-meaning, “liberal” fifties pictures—but it's hard to get it all down without occasionally gagging.

NEXT STOP … We All Loved Each Other So Much, Passione d'Amoré, The Object of My Affection

1977 105m/C IT Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, John Vernon, Francoise Berd; D: Ettore Scola; W: Ettore Scola, Ruggero Maccari, Maurizio Costanzo; C: Pasquale De Santis; M: Armando Travaioli. Golden Globe Awards ‘78: Best Foreign Film; Nominations: Academy Awards ‘77: Best Actor (Mastroianni), Best Foreign-Language Film. VHS, LV, Letterbox COL