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Le Notti Bianche

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7.5/10 • 234

1957-11-141h 41m

DramaRomance

A middle-aged man meets a young woman who is waiting on a canal bridge for her lover's return.

Directors
Luchino Visconti
Editors
Mario Serandrei

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Maria Schell

    Maria Schell

    Natalia

  2. Marcello Mastroianni

    Marcello Mastroianni

    Mario

  3. Jean Marais

    Jean Marais

    L'Inquilino

  4. Marcella Rovena

    Marcella Rovena

    La Padrona della Pensione

  5. Maria Zanoli

    Maria Zanoli

    La Domestica

  6. Elena Fancera

    Elena Fancera

    La Cassiera

  7. Lanfranco Ceccarelli

    Lanfranco Ceccarelli

    Un Coinvolto nella Rissa

  8. Angelo Galassi

    Angelo Galassi

    Un Coinvolto nella Rissa

  9. Renato Terra

    Renato Terra

    Un Coinvolto nella Rissa

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jul 30, 2024

7/10

Marcello Mastroianni espies a young woman who is waiting, patiently, by a bridge. Initially he thinks she is one of the ladies of the night but as he passes he thinks he hears her crying. Distressed, she tries to flee from him but he manages to calm her down and they chat. They agree to meet next evening, same place same time - and that's the start of this charmingly simple drama that sees "Mario" and "Natalia" (Maria Schell) begin to confide in each other and cement a bond borne out of both of their emotional desires and frustrations. We also find out just why she waits each night. There are moments of intensity and joy as this story unfolds and we see a love burgeoning. Can it ever result in anything, though? The cold wintery evenings, the snow, the canals - they all add an eerie richness to two potent performances that show the vulnerabilities of their characters, their longings, disappointments and their hopes. Visconti also amiably incorporates a sense of family into the story well too. His being more around the relationship with the loudly omnipresent, but caring, landlady of his hotel (Marcella Rovena) and her's with her ageing grandmother - who rather comically uses a safety pin to adjoin their shirts so she cannot wander off! There is comedy here, but this film also has a sadness to it. Not a melancholic one, more an inevitability that somehow you just know is going to leave one of them quite possibly worse off in the end. Dostoevsky didn't much like "happy" endings - so don't go expecting one here, but there's a delicate chemistry to enjoy between Mastroianni and Schnell.

Media

  • Le Notti Bianche poster
  • Le Notti Bianche poster
  • Le Notti Bianche poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
Italian
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
danceitalyloveunrequited loveolder man younger woman relationshipforeign language adaptationmodern day adaptationdostoevskylonely