MID-AUGUST LUNCH

Director: Gianni Di Gregorio
Cast: Gianni Di Gregorio, Valeria De Franciscis, Marina Cacciotti, Maria Cali, Grazia Cesarini Sforza, Alfonso Santagata, Luigi Marchetti, Marcello Ottolenghi, Petre Rosu
Run Time: 75 minutes
Country: Italy
Year: 2009
Language: Italian with English subtitles
Rating: G (No advisory)

Charming and unpretentious, Mid-August Lunch (Pranzo di ferragosto) is a gentle portrait about the joys and regrets of old age and the pleasures of food and companionship. The story follows Gianni (Gianni Di Gregorio, who also wrote and directed the film), a placid 50-something bachelor who grudgingly agrees to look after a quirky collection of four elderly ladies in his tiny Roman apartment during Ferragosto, the Italian holiday celebrated on August 15.

During non-holidays, the only residents are Gianni and his strong-minded elderly mother, Valeria (Valeria De Franciscis). However on the eve of Ferragosto, he?s approached by building manager Luigi (Alfonso Santagata) and blackmailed into looking after Luigi?s mother for two nights in exchange for forgiving certain tenant debts. But when Luigi comes to the apartment, he?s brought his aunt, Maria (Maria Cali), as well as his mother, Marina (Marina Cacciotti). Soon after, Gianni?s doctor friend, Marcello (Marcello Ottolenghi), pays a call, asking if he can leave his mother, Grazia (Grazia Cesarini Sforza), for "just one night." As it happens, the four women, each with her own obstinate personality, prove quite a handful for Gianni.

Featuring remarkable performances from its elderly cast, Mid-August Lunch is an absolute delight that doesn?t shy away from depicting the indignities of growing old, and yet manages to invest all of its elderly characters with dignity.

"A slender Chekhovian vignette about the joys and regrets of old age and the pleasures of sociability." – Stephen Holden, The New York Times

"Everything about Mid-August Lunch is simple and unpretentious, from the black-out scene transitions to the folk-dance score, as the four isolated, elderly women, over a couple of days and meals, become a circle of companions." - Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail

Reviews: www.metacritic.com/movie/pranzo-di-ferragosto/critic-reviews

Official Site: www.zeitgeistfilms.com/midaugustlunch

 

Princess Margaret Blvd. (PDF) - This award winning short film (14 min) will be shown prior to our main feature.

 

Fall 2010 Film Schedule Sept 13 - THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT Sept 27 - THE GIRL WITH A DRAGON TATTOO Oct 4 - I AM LOVE Oct 18 - GET LOW Nov 1 - THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE Nov 29 - MID-AUGUST LUNCH Dec 13 - SCORE: A HOCKEY MUSICAL