These three stories very "Italian" indeed, are full of good humour, social observation and correct atmosphere. The direction of De Sica is superb, the acting of Mastroianni and Loren is unique and in the second and third stories we recognize the subtle and superior hand of their author, the great Zavattini. The first story takes place in a very typical popular neighbourhood of Naples where a cigarette pedlar and smuggler (Sofia Loren) discovers that the way of not going to jail for failing to pay a fine, is to get pregnant over and over and giving birth to one child after another with the problems this brings to her exhausted husband (Mastroianni). The second story shows us an aristocratic Milanese rich lady who to escape her boring life gets herself a lover on a social stratum lower to hers and finishes by valuing her Rolls Royce car more than her lover. This is perhaps the not so good of the three stories because it lacks some strength in terms of plot. Finally the third story (maybe the best of the three) is sometimes delirious and hallucinating in its very funny rhythm (Loren's acting is fabulous here) and tells us about a luxury prostitute living near the Piazza Navona in Rome who nevertheless has a soft heart and with whom a neighbour young seminarist falls in love while she plays a game of pull and let go with one of her clients who is anxious to take her to bed most unsuccessfully. This story has a surprising end and a fascinating scene of strip-tease (incomplete of course). You'll have a very amusing time watching this movie.
Keywords: prostitutesexuality
Plot summary
Three different stories of Italian social mores are presented. In "Adelina", unemployed Carmine Sbaratti and his wife Adelina Sbaratti survive through Adelina selling black market cigarettes on the street. They are unable to pay for the furniture they bought (which is under Adelina's name),but are able to avoid the bailiff when he comes for the money or to repossess. They come up with a longer term solution to avoid Adelina being prosecuted for non-payment, but that solution has a profound effect on the family, especially Carmine. In "Anna", Anna Molteni, the spoiled wife of a successful businessman, and an artist named Renzo are on the cusp of an affair. Anna is feeling neglected in the marriage, as her husband seems more concerned about success and money than her. But a car accident shows both Anna and Renzo if an affair with each other is really what they want. In "Mara", Mara is a prostitute who works out of her apartment. She befriends Umberto, a young man visiting his grandparents who live in the adjacent apartment, the balconies of the two apartments which are adjoined. Umberto, a seminary student, seems to be attracted to Mara as a woman without really knowing what she does. Umberto's grandmother, who knows what Mara does, believes Umberto's seeming romantic infatuation with Mara will be his downfall. As Mara and Umberto's grandmother ultimately join forces to get Umberto to do the right thing in life, Augusto Rusconi, one of Mara's regular clients who is in town from Bologna, does whatever he can to get Umberto's family issues out of the way so that he can get on with his own wants with Mara.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Charming, funny and sometimes even hilarious
de Sica's trilogy starring Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren
Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren star in three stories about - well, men and women - in "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow," a Vittorio de Sica film.
The stories vary, with the two stars playing roles that show off their different talents. All three of the stories showcase one of Loren's great talents - her awe-inspiring beauty.
I was lucky to have seen this in Italian with subtitles. The Italian language is so beautiful. I loved hearing it spoken and to see the Italian scenery along with it.
The first story is about a woman who keeps getting pregnant to avoid going to prison for not paying for furniture she purchased. She ends with 7 kids and a husband so worn out he can barely walk. Meanwhile, with each birth, she becomes more beautiful. It's either the longest story or it went on the longest - it's not the most interesting of the three.
The second story involves a rich woman with no regard for anyone but herself and her money, even though she talks a different game entirely to her new boyfriend as they're driving. She keeps bumping into people with her car. When she lets the boyfriend drive, he crashes the car rather than a hit a child, and she has a fit. A real nasty piece of work.
The third story is really the best - Loren is a high-class prostitute who befriends a young man studying for the priesthood. He's staying with his vicious grandmother in the apartment across from hers. The grandmother flings insults at Loren. Meanwhile, one of Loren's steadies, Mastroianni, can't get to first base with her because she's so distracted. This vignette is famous for Loren's hot striptease, which she repeats for Mastroianni again in 1994's "Pret a Porter." Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren are excellent in all of their roles, set against the beauty of the Italian locales. Loren is gorgeous, in fact, beyond gorgeous, particularly in the last sequence. Even today, she manages to dazzle. There's something about her that no American actress can even approximate.
This film may have been a little overrated in its day, but it is certainly well worth seeing.
uneven but worth seeing
This movie is made up of three separate vignettes starring Sophia Loren and Morcello Mastrianni playing three different couples. Each segment differs greatly as far as their length and quality.
The first is the longest, and for me, the least interesting. It's about a woman who continues to have baby after baby after baby in order to stay out of prison for a petty crime. Considering she ultimately had 7 kids in the process, the story seems to drag on and on. She could have done it once or twice or even three times, but the skit went on and on with not nearly enough payoff.
The second is by far the shortest and is about a selfish spoiled rich brat. It's mildly interesting but that's about all.
The final skit makes the movie. If it weren't for this one, the movie might have been scored a 4 or 5. It's about a prostitute who has turned the head of a young man in training to be a priest. At the same time, Mastriani is a customer who is again and again and again thwarted in his goal of bedding Loren. It may not sound funny based on the description, but it's very entertaining and her striptease is very sexy to say the least!
My overall impression of the movie is only fair. I think that's because I am a BIG fan of the earlier Neo-Realistic films directed by DeSica. They are almost totally different from this movie--having none of the expensive production values or polished actors. However, they were simply better movies. If you compare UMBERTO D., MIRACLE IN MILAN or any of his other Neo-Realistic films of the 40s, they show the director at the top of his form. Ieri, oggi, domani just looks contrived and ordinary in comparison.