Bread and Chocolate
Encyclopedia
Bread and Chocolate is a 1974 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Franco Brusati. This film chronicles the misadventures of an Italian immigrant to Switzerland and is representative of the commedia all'italiana
film genre.
) is a migrant "guest worker
" from Naples
, working as a waiter in Switzerland
. He loses his work permit when he is caught urinating in public, so he begins to lead a clandestine life in Switzerland. At first he is supported by Elena, a Greek
woman. Then he befriends an Italian industrialist, relocated to Switzerland because of financial problems. The industrialist takes him under his wing, only to commit suicide when he squanders his last savings. Nino is constrained to find shelter with a group of clandestine Neapolitans living in a chicken coop, together with the same chickens they tend to in order to survive. Captivated by the idyllic vision of a group of young blonde, Swiss youths, he decides to dye his hair and pass himself off as a local. In a bar, when rooting for the Italian national football team during its transmission, he is found out after celebrating a goal scored by Fabio Capello. He is arrested and deported. He embarks on a train and finds himself in a cabin filled with returning Italian guest workers. Amid the songs of "sun" and "sea", he is seen having second thoughts. He gets off at the first stop: better life as an illegal immigrant than a life of misery.
Commedia all'italiana
Commedia all'italiana or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre. It is widely considered to have started with Mario Monicelli's I soliti ignoti in 1958 and derives its name from the title of Pietro Germi's Divorzio all'italiana .-Stars:Vittorio Gassman, Ugo...
film genre.
Plot
Like many southern Europeans of the period (1960s to early 1970s), Nino Garofalo (Nino ManfrediNino Manfredi
Nino Manfredi was an Italian actor, one of the most prominent in the commedia all'italiana genre....
) is a migrant "guest worker
Gastarbeiter
Gastarbeiter is German for "guest worker." It refers to migrant workers who had moved to West Germany mainly in the 1960s and 70s, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker programme...
" from Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, working as a waiter in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He loses his work permit when he is caught urinating in public, so he begins to lead a clandestine life in Switzerland. At first he is supported by Elena, a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
woman. Then he befriends an Italian industrialist, relocated to Switzerland because of financial problems. The industrialist takes him under his wing, only to commit suicide when he squanders his last savings. Nino is constrained to find shelter with a group of clandestine Neapolitans living in a chicken coop, together with the same chickens they tend to in order to survive. Captivated by the idyllic vision of a group of young blonde, Swiss youths, he decides to dye his hair and pass himself off as a local. In a bar, when rooting for the Italian national football team during its transmission, he is found out after celebrating a goal scored by Fabio Capello. He is arrested and deported. He embarks on a train and finds himself in a cabin filled with returning Italian guest workers. Amid the songs of "sun" and "sea", he is seen having second thoughts. He gets off at the first stop: better life as an illegal immigrant than a life of misery.
Cast
- Nino ManfrediNino ManfrediNino Manfredi was an Italian actor, one of the most prominent in the commedia all'italiana genre....
as Nino Garofalo - Johnny DorelliJohnny DorelliJohnny Dorelli is an Italian actor, singer and showman.Born as Giorgio Guidi in Meda, he debuted as singer in the late 1950s for CGD label. In 1958 he won the Sanremo Festival in duo with Domenico Modugno, with the songs "Nel blu dipinto di blu" and "Piove "...
as Italian Industrialist - Anna KarinaAnna KarinaAnna Karina is a Danish film actress, director, and screenwriter who has spent most of her working life in France. Karina is known as a muse of the director, Jean-Luc Godard, one of the pioneers of the French New Wave...
as Elena - Paolo Turco as Gianni
- Ugo D'Alessio as Old Man
- Tano CimarosaTano CimarosaTano Cimarosa was an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director from Sicily. He participated in more than fifty movies.He played the "Blacksmith" in the Oscar-winning film Cinema Paradiso from 1988....
as Giacomo - Gianfranco BarraGianfranco BarraGianfranco Barra is an Italian film actor. He has appeared in 81 films since 1968. He was born in Rome, Italy.-Selected filmography:* Avanti! * Dirty Weekend * Bread and Chocolate * Black Holiday...
as The Turk - Giorgio Cerioni as Police Inspector
- Francesco D'Adda as Rudiger
- Geoffrey Copleston as Boegli
- Federico Scrobogna as Grigory
- Max Delys as Renzo
- Umberto Raho as Maitre
- Nelide Giammarco as The Blonde
- Manfred Freyberger as Lo svizzero sportivo
Awards
- Bread and Chocolate won several international awards including the Silver Bear at the 24th Berlin International Film Festival24th Berlin International Film FestivalThe 24th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 21 to July 2, 1974.-Jury:* Rodolfo Kuhn * Margaret Hinxmann* Pietro Bianchi* Gérard Ducaux-Rupp* Kurt Heinz* Akira Iwasaki* Arthur Knight* Manfred Purzer...
in 1974. - New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language FilmNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language FilmThe New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the annual film critics awards given by the New York Film Critics Circle.- 1960s :- 1970s :- 1980s :- 1990s :- 2000s :- 2010s :...
1978