Blast from the Past: De Sica
Florinda Bolkan won the first Best Actress prize from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for her performance in A Brief Vacation, Vittorio De Sica femme-centered melodrama.
Grade: B
| A Brief Vacation | |
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Italian theatrical release poster
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| Italian | Una breve vacanza |
The screenplay, written by De Sica frequent collaborator Cesare Zavattini, was inspired by an Apollinaire adage, “Sickness is the vacation of the poo.”
Florinda Bolkan plays Clara Mataro, a female factory worker from Calabria who falls ill on the job and follows a recommendation to rest at a mountain retreat. She goes despite her husband’s wishes, leaving behind her work shift, frustrating in-laws, and her three children.
The film addresses broader issues that marital obligations, such as the the health care system, labor conditions, and class struggle.
A Brief Vacation premered at the 1973 Taormina Film Fest, but was released in the U.S. two years later, thus qualifying for 1975 awards considerations.
Cast
Florinda Bolkan as Clara Mataro
Renato Salvatori as Franco Mataro, the husband
Daniel Quenaud as Luigi, Clara’s lover
José María Prada as Dr. Ciranni
Teresa Gimpera as Gina
Hugo Blanco as brother-in-law
Julia Peña as Edvige
Miranda Campa as Nurse Guidotti
Angela Cardile as the redhead
Anna Carena as mother-in-law
Monica Guerritore as Maria
Maria Mizar as Nurse Garin
Alessandro Romanazzi as son
Adriana Asti as Scanziani
Christian De Sica as Mariani
Credits:
Directed by Vittorio De Sica
Screenplay by Cesare Zavattini; Story by Rodolfo Sonego
Produced by Arthur Cohn
Cinematography Ennio Guarnieri
Edited by Franco Arcalli
Music by Manuel De Sica
Production: Verona Produzione; Azor Films
Distributed by Cinema International Corporation
Release dates: July 21, 1973 (Taormina Fest); June 1975 (USA)
Running time: 106 minutes
