Tea With Mussolini (1999)

65% of critics liked it
(34 reviews)
72% of users liked it
(7,259 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 time." Luca… 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

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 56 min.
Directed By: Franco Zeffirelli
Written By: John Mortimer, Franco Zeffirelli
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: May 14, 1999 Wide
On DVD: Nov 16, 1999
Studio: MGM/UA

Critic Reviews

Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
A collection of isolated, anecdotal events that are as warmly amusing as they are lacking in narrative drive.
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.
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.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
This satisfying film reveals the ways in which a village can successfully raise a child.
Ross Anthony, Hollywood Report Card
Cher shines with the spirit of 'Life is Beautiful.'

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jeremy S

What the Hell is Cher doing in this good movie?
Candy R

True story about a group of women bonded together by their situation during World War II. Excellent cast. Beautiful scenery.
jay n

great character actresses doing wonderful work
Mark A

Three Grande Dames of the British stage and film (Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, and Joan Plowright) come together, along with Americans Cher and Lily Tomlin to power this tale of a group of British ex-pats and their brash American friends trying to preserve their way of life in Italy just… More
Three Grande Dames of the British stage and film (Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, and Joan Plowright) come together, along with Americans Cher and Lily Tomlin to power this tale of a group of British ex-pats and their brash American friends trying to preserve their way of life in Italy just before the Second World War. The acting is superb, and the story, based on actual events as remembered by the director, Franco Zeffirelli, is spellbinding. Maggie Smith can do imperious. And she does it brilliantly here. Yet she does have a tender side when the chips are down. Joan Plowright proves to be the heart and soul of the film however and more than holds her own beside the other two. The story bears a slight similarity to that of Paradise Road, but without the despair and brutality of that other story, from the Japanese theater of the war. This viewer really enjoyed this.
Sunil J

A lighter view of a dark time. Pretty enjoyable.