Sunflower (I girasoli) (1970)
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86% of users liked it
(852 ratings)
The first Italian feature film shot in Moscow was directed by the renowned Vittorio De Sica and produced by Carlo Ponti. Sophia Loren stars as Giovanna, an Italian woman who marries Antonio (Marcello Mastroianni) 12 days before the outbreak of WWII. Antonio has no desire to fight in the conflict,… More The first Italian feature film shot in Moscow was directed by the renowned Vittorio De Sica and produced by Carlo Ponti. Sophia Loren stars as Giovanna, an Italian woman who marries Antonio (Marcello Mastroianni) 12 days before the outbreak of WWII. Antonio has no desire to fight in the conflict, and he fakes insanity to try to avoid the draft, but officials see through the charade. Antonio is sent to the Russian front, where the soldiers are plagued by freezing temperatures and short supplies of rations. He is found half-dead in the cold by a Russian peasant girl, Mascia (Lyudmila Savelyeva). She takes him in, and eventually, they marry. Giovanna waits in vain for word on the fate of her husband, who is officially declared missing in action. She goes to Russia to try to find him, searching records and cemeteries. Finally, she discovers first his new wife, then him, and reluctantly decides not to fight the situation. Returning home to Italy, she marries an older factory worker, Ettore (Germano Longo), and they have a son (who is played by the real-life son of Ponti and Loren). But Antonio still longs for Giovanna, and he returns to Italy to discuss a reconciliation with her. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Directed By
- Vittorio De Sica
- Written By
- Tonino Guerra, Giorgi Mdivani
- Genres
- Art House & International, Drama
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1970 Wide
- Studio
- AVCO Embassy Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
...a useful corrective to American movies which present the war as a time of glory on the battlefield and cheery patriotism at home.
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Phil Hall, Film Threat
Excellent drama, with Sophia Loren at the peak of her powers.
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Cast
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Sophia Loren
as Giovanna
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Marcello Mastroianni
as Antonio
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Lyudmila Savelyeva
as Mascia
- Galina Andreeva
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Germano Longo
as Ettore
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Glauco Onorato
as Returning Veteran
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Silvano Tranquilli
as Russian-Italian Worker
- Anna Carena
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Pippo Starnazza
as Italian official
- Umberto Di Grazia
- Galina Andreyeva
- Gunar Tsilinsky
- Marisa Traversi
- Nadya Serednichenko
- Ludmila Savelyeva
