Ciao a tutti at My Italian Circle!

If you’re reading this, you probably love the Italian language, and maybe you also love old Italian movies, as I do. In this article, I outline certain themes that often appear in movies made from the 1940s through the 1970s, such as language differences; the dichotomy between North and South; emigration; and the post-war economic boom. Often, these themes might pass unnoticed without some understanding of the cultural background. The information I provide here lays the basis for a deeper appreciation of the films. For example, when you see a film where a northerner makes a disparaging remark about a southerner, or where an Italian emigrant misses home, you’ll know that these are themes of Italian life and culture, and not just the experience of a single individual.

I illustrate the themes with images from some of my favorite Italian films, which include Italian subtitles translated, in some cases, from dialect. I’ve included links to the cineracconti (photo-stories) on my blog www.liconoscevobene.net, where, if your curiosity is piqued, you can read a narrative of each film, complete with dialogue, scene description, cultural notes, and images.