My House in Umbria
Encyclopedia
My House in Umbria is a 2003 HBO made-for-television movie, based on the novella
of the same name by William Trevor
and published along with another novella in the volume Two Lives
. The film stars Maggie Smith
and was directed by Richard Loncraine
.
) is an eccentric British
romance novelist who lives in Umbria
in central Italy
. One day while travelling, the train she is on is bombed by terrorists. After she wakes up in a hospital, she invites three of the other survivors of the disaster to stay at her Italian villa for recuperation. Of these are The General, a retired British Army veteran, Werner, a young German man, and Aimee, a young American girl who has now become mute
after her parents were both killed in the explosion.
As the group recovers from their ordeal (in which The General lost his daughter, and Werner lost his girlfriend and suffered considerable burns to his arm), the explosion is being investigated by Inspector Girotti, a local policeman. Responding to the warmth and kindness of Mrs Delahunty and the others, Aimee begins to speak again, while the local authorities seek out any relatives who might be able to take her in. They eventually locate her uncle, Tom Riversmith, a university professor in the US. He agrees to take Aimee back to the US to live with his wife and himself, though they have little time for raising children and are particularly concerned about trying to raise a child who has been through such a traumatic experience as well as the Professor who had no experience raising children.
Mrs Delahunty works hard to find common ground with Aimee's uncle and eventually convinces him to leave Aimee with her in Italy rather than taking the child back to America to a loveless home. Meanwhile, Inspector Girotti discovers that Werner was involved in the terrorist attack on the train.
The plot departs substantially from that of Trevor's somber novella
.
1 win, 9 nominations
2 nominations
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
of the same name by William Trevor
William Trevor
William Trevor, KBE is an Irish author and playwright. He is considered one of the elder statesman of the Irish literary world and widely regarded as the greatest contemporary writer of short stories in the English language....
and published along with another novella in the volume Two Lives
Two Lives (novel)
Two Lives consists of a pair of novellas by Irish author William Trevor and published as a single book. The volume is composed of Reading Turgenev and My House in Umbria.-Plot:...
. The film stars Maggie Smith
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
and was directed by Richard Loncraine
Richard Loncraine
Richard Loncraine is a British film and television director.Loncraine received early training in the features department of the BBC, including a season directing items for Tomorrow's World...
.
Cast
- Maggie SmithMaggie SmithDame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
as Mrs. Emily Delahunty - Chris CooperChris Cooper (actor)Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and...
as Thomas Riversmith - Timothy SpallTimothy SpallTimothy Leonard Spall, OBE is an English character actor and occasional presenter.-Early life:Spall, the third of four sons, was born in Battersea, London. His mother, Sylvia R. , was a hairdresser, and his father, Joseph L. Spall, was a postal worker...
as Quinty - Emmy ClarkeEmmy ClarkeMary Elizabeth Clarke , better known as Emmy Clarke, is an American actress.At the age of one Clarke moved with her parents to Houston, Texas. At age 6 she moved to Woking, England, where she attended TASIS England before moving to New York City at age 11. The nickname "Emmy" is derived from her...
as Aimee - Ronnie BarkerRonnie BarkerRonald William George "Ronnie" Barker, OBE was a British actor, comedian, writer, critic, broadcaster and businessman...
as The General - Benno FürmannBenno FürmannBenjamin "Benno" Fürmann is a German film and television actor.-Life and work:Fürmann was born in Berlin-Kreuzberg. By the age of 15 he had lost both his parents. At 17, he had a serious accident while train surfing, and had to spend six weeks in the hospital as a result...
as Werner - Giancarlo GianniniGiancarlo GianniniGiancarlo Giannini is an Italian actor and dubber.Giannini was born La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. He studied at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica in Rome, and made his film debut in a small part in Fango sulla metropoli in 1965...
as Inspector Girotti - Libero De RienzoLibero De Rienzo-Career:De Rienzo was born at Naples, but was raised at Rome.In 2001, De Rienzo appeared in three films: Fat Girl, Gioco con la morte, and Santa Maradona. He received a David di Donatello award for best supporting actor for his work in Santa Maradona...
as Dr. Innocenti
Plot
Emily Delahunty (Maggie SmithMaggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
) is an eccentric British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
romance novelist who lives in Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
in central Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. One day while travelling, the train she is on is bombed by terrorists. After she wakes up in a hospital, she invites three of the other survivors of the disaster to stay at her Italian villa for recuperation. Of these are The General, a retired British Army veteran, Werner, a young German man, and Aimee, a young American girl who has now become mute
Muteness
Muteness or mutism is an inability to speak caused by a speech disorder. The term originates from the Latin word mutus, meaning "silent".-Causes:...
after her parents were both killed in the explosion.
As the group recovers from their ordeal (in which The General lost his daughter, and Werner lost his girlfriend and suffered considerable burns to his arm), the explosion is being investigated by Inspector Girotti, a local policeman. Responding to the warmth and kindness of Mrs Delahunty and the others, Aimee begins to speak again, while the local authorities seek out any relatives who might be able to take her in. They eventually locate her uncle, Tom Riversmith, a university professor in the US. He agrees to take Aimee back to the US to live with his wife and himself, though they have little time for raising children and are particularly concerned about trying to raise a child who has been through such a traumatic experience as well as the Professor who had no experience raising children.
Mrs Delahunty works hard to find common ground with Aimee's uncle and eventually convinces him to leave Aimee with her in Italy rather than taking the child back to America to a loveless home. Meanwhile, Inspector Girotti discovers that Werner was involved in the terrorist attack on the train.
The plot departs substantially from that of Trevor's somber novella
Two Lives (novel)
Two Lives consists of a pair of novellas by Irish author William Trevor and published as a single book. The volume is composed of Reading Turgenev and My House in Umbria.-Plot:...
.
Production
- Much of the film was made on location in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, including CinecittàCinecittàCinecittà is a large film studio in Rome that is considered the hub of Italian cinema.-History:The studios were founded in 1937 by Benito Mussolini and his head of cinema Luigi Freddi for propaganda purposes, under the slogan "Il cinema è l'arma più forte"...
, RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Lazio, SienaSienaSiena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
, and TuscanyTuscanyTuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
.
Awards
- Emmy Awards
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (Smith, won)
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (Cooper, nominated)
- Outstanding Made for Television Movie (nominated)
- Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special (nominated)
- Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (nominated)
- Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (nominated)
- Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (nominated)
- Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special (nominated)
- Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (nominated)
1 win, 9 nominations
- Golden Globes
- Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (nominated)
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television (Smith, nominated)
2 nominations