The sentimental journey of a Sicilian pensioner (Marcello Mastroianni, his eyes magnified by coke-bottle lenses) to the mainland to visit his five grown children. The children, all named after opera characters, appear to him periodically as juveniles; and there's a recurring nightmare about a predatory hot-air balloon; and Fellini-isms litter the travel route: an enormous statue passing by a bus window, a stationary stag holding up traffic on the freeway. Occasionally, through all the frills, you get a glimmer of an eternal verity about life falling short of expectations and people trying to maintain illusions. With Michele Morgan; written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. (1990) — Duncan Shepherd
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