Miracle in Milan (1951)

Original title

Miracolo a Milano

Directed by

Vittorio De Sica

Genre

drama film, fantasy film, comedy film, cinematic fairy tale

Country

Italy

Runtime

1h 40m

Rated

12

Rating

7.3 of 10 from 266 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In post-World War II Milan, a kind orphan named Toto leads a group of poor people living in a shantytown. After he discovers a magical dove that can grant wishes, the community tries to use it to improve their lives while avoiding greedy landlords who want the land.

whimsicalwarmgentlehopefulplayfulbittersweetfairy-tale-likesocially aware

What happens

Miracle in Milan (Italian: Miracolo a Milano) is a 1951 Italian fantasy comedy film directed by Vittorio De Sica. The screenplay was co-written by Cesare Zavattini and De Sica, based on Zavattini's 1943 novel Totò il Buono. Told as a neo-realist fable, the film depicts the lives of a poverty-stricken group in post-WWII Milan, Italy, led by Totò, a kind and cheerful orphan. The film stars Francesco Golisano as Totò, alongside an ensemble cast that includes Emma Gramatica, Paolo Stoppa, Guglielmo Barnabò, and Brunella Bovo. In 2008, Miracle in Milan was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage's list of 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Toto and the King of Rome (1951)
• 47 morto che parla (1950)
• Bellissima (1951)
• Totò cerca pace (1954)
• Toto in Color (1952)
• Romulus and the Sabines (1945)
• Miracolo a Viggiù (1951)
• Never Take No for an Answer (1952)