Welcome to 25 for 25 my project to watch and eat my way around the world in 2025 with 25 movies from 25 countries matched with 25 country themed dinners. Today’s entry is Italy but you can see the full Masterlist to watch and cook along with me.
Country: Italy
Movie: Un borghese piccolo piccolo [An Average Little Man]
Director: Mario Monicelli
Year: 1977
The Elevator Pitch: Giovanni Vivaldi (Alberto Sordi) is a self important paper pushing government official looking to set his son Marion (Vincenzo Crocitti) up in the same place to coast out a middle class life for himself. Unfortunately for him his son isn’t quite up to the task and Giovanni must go to extreme lengths in order to secure his son the position.
How Was the Movie?: We watched this movie over a month ago but I’m actually still thinking about it. We were pitched the film as both one of the greatest Italian films but also as a comedy and I have trouble with both of those statements being true and false but maybe that’s just me. Set during the Years of Lead, this film is intensely political while at every turn it feels like the main character wants to ignore politics and simply get on with life. A sympathetic look at the people on the ladder but at the bottom being crushed under the boot of those above and what happens to them when they encounter the forces of society. As the film sublimates from comedy to drama to horror it feels even more like the film deeply understands the life as a person who simply cannot get ahead. I’m not particularly sympathetic to the main character at any point in the film though many reviews suggest he is a selfless and then becomes monstrous and I don’t agree at all and don’t find the heel turn to be quite as surprising as most people think but he’s played so brilliantly and deftly by Alberto Sordi that I was on the edge of the my seat most of the time anyway.
It’s hard to write about a film that takes such a turn halfway through the film without either not getting into the meat of it or just spoiling a wonderful experience for people who haven’t seen it but suffice it to say that even if this isn’t going on my top 10 list any time soon it is more than well worth watching.
What was for Dinner?:
I make Italian food all the time so really this felt like cheating. Probably one of the easiest dinners I put together in this whole series so far. I made your basic bruschetta to start, then risotto ai funghi, and I tried a new-to-me almond cookie ricciarelli. I didn’t read the instructions 100% so I made the ricciarelli the wrong shape and didn’t roll them in powered sugar before baking but they were obviously still really delicious. They had a crackly, crunchy chew texture not unlike a macaron. The risotto was great (I’m assuming you know what risotto is like) and who doesn’t like bread, garlic, tomatoes and a bunch of herbs. We also had a bottle of Italian procecco because it’s my favorite type of bubbly drink 🙂
I don’t have a lot of notes of the food because it’s fairly basic but it was a solid dinner and I feel like you could impress some company pretty easily with this meal. I know it’s more like an American meal structure (appetizer, main, dessert) than an Italian meal (antipasta, primo, secondo, dolche) but them’s the breaks when you’re cooking for yourself.
That’s it for Italy, see you next in Tunisa!