Monsters (film)

The film is a mosaic of individual episodes (there are twenty in all), of varying lengths and different in drama. Some of them contain caustic social satire , others look more like anecdotes , some are related to the vaudeville tradition, others are more sad than comic. The structure of "Monsters" recalls the tradition of the genre of the novelistic book, popular in the Renaissance in Italy. The episodes of the film are united by the scene - Rome and time - the beginning of the 1960s.

• 1) Education of feelings . A father teaches his son to act contrary to the commandments . Ten years pass, and according to the contents of the newspaper article, the son robs and kills his father ^[1] .
• 2) The monster . The hefty, degenerative killer of his family is dragged from the house by two hefty carabiner freaks and posed in front of photojournalists.
• 3) Recommendation . A wealthy industrialist opposes the courtship of the gentlemen for his early-ripened daughter, but makes an exception for the aging donjuan, who helps him solve his problems (in another version of the film: the famous actor gives a telephone call to his colleague first and then ruins his career because he allegedly brings misfortune).
• 4) Like a real father . A friend comes to a friend to ask for advice on what to do with an unfaithful spouse. Having made a promise to talk to that “fatherly”, a friend returns to bed, where he is waiting for that same unfaithful wife.
• 5) Cinema, believe . In the interest of filming a " neorealistic " film, the old woman is often thrown into the pool.
• 6) The poor soldier . Having identified the body of his sister, a murdered prostitute, the poor fellow goes to the newspaper to profitably sell her intimate diary.
• 7) Dog life . The inhabitant of Bidonville leaves his pregnant wife with a sick child (who once has not paid for the doctor’s visit) and spends the last penny on a football match.
• 8) One day in the life of a deputy . The MP from the Christian Democrats, to whom the old general wants to tell the story of fraud in the highest echelons of power, is doing everything to nullify the possible consequences of the report.
• 9) Lovers in the Roman manner . Two young people on the beach absentmindedly caress the girl sitting between them. She leaves, and their hands intertwine.
• 10) Voluntary witness . Wanting to give testimony during the trial, the hero becomes the object of humiliation and bullying by the accused’s lawyer.
• 11) Orphans . The blind man and his guide make a living by collecting alms. The doctor ophthalmologist undertakes to return the blind to the impoverished vision. A guide immediately takes his ward to another district of the city.
• 12) Ambush . A policeman tracks down violators, hiding behind a newsstand to write them a fine.
• 13) The spirit of self-sacrifice . A married man breaks with his mistress and convinces her that he did it for her own good.
• 14) Opening day . To celebrate the acquisition of a new car, the buyer, an exemplary family man, immediately goes to prostitutes.
• 15) Muse . The lady-chairman of the literary contest awards the first place to the young peasant, on whom she “laid eyes”.
• 16) The grass of oblivion . At the movie screening, the scene of the Nazi execution of Resistance participants against the background of the wall makes the hero think about what his villa under construction should look like.
• 17) Street for everyone . A pedestrian, having hardly crossed a busy street and swearing at what the light stands for motorists, gets behind the wheel and gives gas, almost crushing a couple of gaping passers-by.
• 18) Opium for the people . The beautiful wife brings her lover into the house; the husband sits in the next room, but is so absorbed in the contemplation of the television screen that he completely ignores what is happening nearby.
• 19) Testament of St. Francis . The priest at the hairdresser for a long time puts himself in order, and then in a television program he talks about simplicity and self-abasement.
• 20) High art . Former boxer Gvarnachchi convinces his friend, also a former boxer Antinori, to enter the ring and hold out a couple of rounds against the champion for the sake of reward. The champion inflicts a terrible blow to Antinori, who is crippled and falls into idiocy . In the last scene of the film, Guarnacci rolls a wheelchair along the beach in which Antinori sits.

The film "Monsters" is a double performance of Hugo Tonyazzi and Vittorio Gassman . Especially striking was the kaleidoscope of roles played by Gassman, including the female role (episode 15). In addition, the episode "Opium for the People" starred the French actress Michel Mercier .

• In the first short story - “Education of feelings” - the role of the boy was played by the son of the actor Hugo Tonyazzi, now the famous film director Ricky Tonyazzi .
• In 1977, in the continuation of “Monsters”, the film “ New Monsters” was shot (directed by D. Risi, M. Monicelli and E. Skola).
• During the 2008 IFF ​​in Venice, the film was shown with two additional episodes not previously shown.

According to Jacques Lursel, along with the picture " Overtaking, " this film "marks the birth of" Italian comedy, "in this case, in the form of an almanac . This direction, which is destined to live only a dozen years, leads to a double renewal: in the comedy genre and in the structure of almanac films ” ^[2] .

In many ways, the film still has not lost its relevance. The above applies not only to Italy. For a modern Muscovite, like a Roman, crossing the street is no easier than the character of Vittorio Gassman. The stunning effect of television "opium for the people" today is expressed much more strongly than during the unlucky cuckold performed by Hugo Tonyazzi. Finally, the pursuit of money is still the leading motivation in the behavior of the "small" and "large" bourgeois.

• Italian comedy
• New monsters

1. ↑ There is no description of patricide in the Russian voice acting (a newspaper article translated as “Accident” appears after being overtaken during a traffic jam).
2. ↑ Lursell J. I mostri. Monsters The author's encyclopedia of films. T. II .. - SPb.-M: Rosebud Publishing, 2009.

• Lursell J. Authors Encyclopedia of Films. T. II. - SPb.-M .: Rosebud Publishing, 2009.
• Pier Marco De Santi, Rossano Vittori, I film di Ettore Scola, Gremese Editore, 1987
• Masolino D'Amico. La commedia all'italiana . Mondadori (1985), ripubblicato da Il Saggiatore (2008)

• Materials from the official website of Hugo Tonyazzi