Tea With Mussolini (1999)
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65% of critics liked it
(34 reviews) -
72% of users liked it
(7,444 ratings)
Based in part on his autobiography, director Franco Zeffirelli's Tea With Mussolini is a drama with comic accents about a group of British and American travelers on an indefinite visit to Italy in 1935, when, as one character puts it, "Mussolini was just a man who made the trains run on… More Based in part on his autobiography, director Franco Zeffirelli's Tea With Mussolini is a drama with comic accents about a group of British and American travelers on an indefinite visit to Italy in 1935, when, as one character puts it, "Mussolini was just a man who made the trains run on time." Luca (played by Charlie Lucas) is a boy living in Florence whose family situation is precarious at best; his mother has died and his father has little time for him. Fortunately, he's a welcome guest with Mary (Joan Plowright), a English woman visiting Italy to soak up European culture. Mary and her friends -- high-toned Lady Hester (Maggie Smith), pretentious Arabella (Judi Dench), American art collector Elsa (Cher) and cheerful lesbian Georgie (Lily Tomlin) -- enjoy the cultured, creative atmosphere of life in Italy, and their initial response to the rise of fascism is to arrange a polite meeting with Mussolini to make sure he and his soldiers mean well. After some time, Luca's father becomes concerned that the boy is soaking up too much British influence and enrolls him in a boarding school in Austria; by the time 1940 rolls around, situations have changed radically for everyone. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Franco Zeffirelli
- Written By
- John Mortimer, Franco Zeffirelli
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy
PG,
- In Theaters
- May 14, 1999 Wide
- Studio
- MGM/UA
Critic Reviews
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Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
A collection of isolated, anecdotal events that are as warmly amusing as they are lacking in narrative drive.
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S. James Wegg, JWR
The banter, jealousy and cattiness among these charming stereotypes of the Anglo-American lifestyle sweepstakes makes much of this engaging film a winner.
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Nick Davis, Nick's Flick Picks
Art and suffocating tastefulness are taken as such inherent goods in [this film] that they utterly overwhelm the real people whom the film pretends to showcase.
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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
This satisfying film reveals the ways in which a village can successfully raise a child.
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Ross Anthony, Hollywood Report Card
Cher shines with the spirit of 'Life is Beautiful.'
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Cher
as Elsa
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Judi Dench
as Arabella
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Joan Plowright
as Mary
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Maggie Smith
as Hester
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Lily Tomlin
as Georgie
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Baird Wallace
as Luca (teenager)
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Charlie Lucas
as Luca (child)
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Massimo Ghini
as Paolo
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Paolo Seganti
as Vittorio
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Paul Checquer
as Wilfred
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Tessa Pritchard
as Connie
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Mino Bellei
as Cesare
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Claudio Spadaro
as Mussolini
- Michael Williams
