The Icicle Thief (1989)

Original title

Ladri di saponette

Directed by

Maurizio Nichetti

Genre

comedy film

Country

Italy

Runtime

1h 30m

Rated

6

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 34 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A black and white Italian neorealist film is interrupted by a color television commercial. The characters from the old film and the people in the commercial become mixed up. A director tries to fix the mess while criticizing how television treats art.

playfulsatiricalnostalgicsurrealclevermetabittersweetobservational

What happens

The Icicle Thief (Italian: Ladri di saponette, lit. 'Soap Thieves') is a 1989 Italian comedy film directed by Maurizio Nichetti, titled in imitation of Vittorio De Sica's 1948 classic Italian neorealist film The Bicycle Thief (Italian: Ladri di biciclette). Some feel The Icicle Thief was created as a spoof of neorealism, which predominated Italian cinema after World War II. However, it is generally understood that the film is critical of the impact of consumerism on art, as suggested by the contrast between the nested film and commercials, and the apathy of Italian television viewers in recognising the difference between the two. The film won the Golden St. George at the 16th Moscow International Film Festival. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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