Good Morning, Night (Buongiorno, Notte) (2003)

67% of critics liked it
(21 reviews)
68% of users liked it
(3,292 ratings)

A young couple, Chiara (Maya Sansa) and Ernesto (Pier Giorgio Bellocchio, the director's son), follow a real estate agent through a nicely secluded apartment, which they subsequently rent. They then begin doing some strange renovations. It turns out that they're not a couple at all. They're members… More A young couple, Chiara (Maya Sansa) and Ernesto (Pier Giorgio Bellocchio, the director's son), follow a real estate agent through a nicely secluded apartment, which they subsequently rent. They then begin doing some strange renovations. It turns out that they're not a couple at all. They're members of the Red Brigade, and the apartment is going to be used to house a kidnapped government official. Good Morning, Night is established writer/director Marco Bellocchio's take on the kidnapping of Aldo Moro, president of the Christian Democratic Party, which rocked Italian politics in the late '70s. Bellocchio tells the story from Chiara's point-of-view, as her romantic relationship with fellow cell member Primo (Giovanni Calcagno) and her allegiance to their strident leader, Mariano (Luigi Lo Cascio), is gradually shaken as she begins to develop respect and affection for their hapless captive, Moro (Roberto Herlitzka). She also begins to feel attracted to Enzo (Paolo Briguglia), a co-worker at her office job (a front for her more radical activities) who has similar political leanings, but strongly disagrees with the Red Brigade's tactics. Chiara spends hours watching Moro in his "cell" through a peephole, as he defends his political actions in a mock trial conducted by Mariano. As negotiations for Moro's release falter due to the government's hard-line stance, Chiara begins to fantasize about helping him escape. Good Morning, Night (the title comes from a poem by Emily Dickinson) was shown at the 2003 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Little Golden Lion, the "CinemAvvenire," and an award for Bellocchio's screenplay. It was also selected for the 2003 New York Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Marco Bellocchio
Written By: Marco Bellocchio
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Nov 11, 2005 Limited
On DVD: Apr 4, 2006
Studio: Wellspring Media

Critic Reviews

Ty Burr, Boston Globe
The strength of Good Morning, Night is not in winking meta-drama but in a clear-eyed, restorative realism that's occasionally broken by quiet flights of fancy.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
The race between her deep-set ideology and burgeoning conscience is a compelling one, but there are too many shortcuts -- from fevered dreams to convenient coincidences -- along the way.
J. Hoberman, Village Voice
Sober yet filled with fancy. There's a wistful aspect to the movie.
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Part reality, part fantasy and all compassion. It is a strangely moving experience for the historically aware filmgoer.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
Ms. Sansa is an actress of exquisite sensitivity.
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
The writer-director's inquiry into this tragedy makes for a moving and intelligent film, but the dark story never feels fully realized.
Daniel Eagan, Film Journal International
Despite good intentions, Good Morning, Night simply confirms what most viewers want to believe about themselves.
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A thoughtful and ultimately chilling take on a tragedy that still has the power to disturb and divide.
Shlomo Schwartzberg, Boxoffice Magazine
A stunning achievement.
Kent Turner, Film-Forward.com
Director Marco Bellocchio takes a pragmatic and complex position
Anton Bitel, Movie Gazette
condenses a national tragedy into an intense domestic drama, and uses the image of a household in disarray to suggest the widening cracks of a country at odds with itself.
Boyd van Hoeij, european-films.net
Buongiorno, notte fails even as a lyrical meditation on the kidnapping because the characters do not engage the audience at any point.
Jamie Russell, BBC
Bellocchio, a former Communist party activist, keenly appreciates the way in which the just causes of the past have been replaced by an uncertainty of action and purpose.
Jurgen Fauth, About.com
Mature and profoundly affecting.
Jeremiah Kipp, Filmcritic.com
[P]otentially fascinating, but doesn't tap into the humanity of its subjects.
Gabriel Shanks, Mixed Reviews
Despite a handful of spirited performances, Bellocchio is unable to move his tale beyond a simple class-war badgering.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Good Morning, Night presents a chilling look at the righteous indignation of zealots while at the same time revealing the firepower of empathy and its close relative compassion.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Good Morning, Night" starts out with an apartment being rented to a young couple in Italy. It is 1978 and Christian Democrat leader Aldo Moro(Roberto Herlitzka) has been kidnapped by the Communist Red Brigades. This apartment will be where he is held… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Good Morning, Night" starts out with an apartment being rented to a young couple in Italy. It is 1978 and Christian Democrat leader Aldo Moro(Roberto Herlitzka) has been kidnapped by the Communist Red Brigades. This apartment will be where he is held captive for two months. Moro maintains a quiet dignity while he is being put on trial for his supposed crimes. [/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]In "Good Morning, NIght", Marco Bellocchio does not use a purely realistic style to tell this very effective political thriller. The movie is told through the eyes of the sole woman of the cell, Chiara(Maya Sansa).(Apparently she is also the only one of the captors who has an outside life during the ordeal.) Through dream imagery, we get a very good idea of what Chiara's ideal world would be like - something akin to a workers paradise. The Brigades hoped Moro's kidnapping would lead to a general uprising... [/font]