Divorce Italian Style

A Sicilian nobleman dreams of killing his wife in a supposed crime of passion. The New York Times hailed Pietro Germi as a master of farce for this tale of an elegant Sicilian nobleman (Marcello Mastroianni) who dreams of entangling his wife in an affair so he might kill her in a supposed crime of passion. A huge worldwide success, and a great showcase for Mastroianni’s comic abilities, the film, based on a novel by Giovanni Arpino, won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Co-starring Stefania Sandrelli as the teenage cousin and object of Mastroianni’s desire, this is a shamelessly beguiling satire of patriarchal Italian society and law and is the defining work of Commedia all’italiana.