Hot Potato (1979 film)
| Hot Potato | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Steno |
| Written by | Steno Giorgio Arlorio Enrico Vanzina |
| Produced by | Achille Manzotti |
| Starring | Renato Pozzetto |
| Cinematography | Giorgio Arlorio |
| Edited by | Raimondo Crociani |
| Music by | Totò Savio |
Release date |
|
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
Hot Potato (Italian: La patata bollente) is a 1979 Italian-style comedy film directed by Steno. The film stars Renato Pozzetto, Massimo Ranieri, Edwige Fenech, Mario Scarpetta and Clara Colosimo.
The film discusses a range of issues such as homophobia in the political left, Anni di piombo violence, working class culture, and the sustainability of Eurocommunism.[1]
Plot
Bernardo Mambelli nicknamed "il Gandi" is a PCI militant and pugilist working at a Milanese paint factory. One night, he sees a fascist gang beating a frail young man. He saves the man and brings him to his house to learn that he is Claudio, a homosexual.
With nowhere to go and recovering from the assault, Claudio starts staying at Bernardo's house but a series of typical misunderstandings lead his comrades as well as his girlfriend Maria to believing that he has "turned gay". Bernardo is now seen as a potential lost cause and the ongoings soon reveal a "hot potato" situation for him.
Cast
- Renato Pozzetto as Bernardo Mambelli nicknamed "il Gandi"
- Massimo Ranieri as Claudio
- Edwige Fenech as Maria
- Mario Scarpetta as Walter
- Clara Colosimo as Elvira, the doorwoman
- Luca Sportelli as Elvira's husband
- Sergio Ciulli as Maravigli
- Adriana Russo as Maria's best friend
- Umberto Raho as the doctor
- Ennio Antonelli as laborer
Production
The film was initially conceived as a segment of a two-part film titled "Fa male mischiare" (lit. 'Mixing Hurts ') directed by Nanni Loy; the two segments were eventually developed into full-length films, the other of them becoming Loy's Café Express.[2]
Reception
Author Sergio Rigoletto wrote that it "was a film grounded in a changing political climate that revealed a considerable shift of attitudes within the Italian Left, with the Communist Party finally showing a willingness to engage in a dialogue with homosexual activist groups."[3] Andrea Sangiovanni argues that "despite its sex comedy title, it was in fact the story of the identity crisis of a metalworker due to a chance encounter with a young homosexual man."[4]
Casa del Cinema opined it is "the first Italian comedy film entirely built on a gay situation with any substance and credibility; Giorgio Arlorio intended it to be a slightly more serious film than it turned out, but it's still quite entertaining; Steno doesn't push the situation to its extremes, it's not the right time yet, but seeing the average worker's reactions to diversity isn't bad."[5] The Tribune and the Niagara Falls Review gave it a rating of 2½ stars out of 5.[6][7]
See also
References
- ^ Milano-Firenze, Mo-Net s.r.l. "La patata bollente (1979)". MYmovies.it. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
- ^ Giusti, Marco (2019). "La Patata Bollente". Dizionario Stracult della Commedia Sexy. Bloodbuster edizioni. pp. 326–327. ISBN 978-88-943385-3-9.
- ^ Rigoletto, Sergio (4 July 2014). "Undoing Genre, Undoing Masculinity". Masculinity and Italian Cinema: Sexual Politics, Social Conflict and Male Crisis in the 1970s. Edinburgh University Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-7486-5455-0.
- ^ Sangiovanni, Andrea (May 2024). "Imaginary Work: Media Representations of Work and Gender in Italy From the Economic Miracle to the Present Day". Modern Italy. 29 (2): 197–217. doi:10.1017/mit.2024.6.
- ^ "La patata bollente, Steno". Casa del Cinema (in Italian).
- ^ "La Patata Bollente". The Tribune. 17 July 1992. p. 6A.
- ^ "La Patata Bollente". Niagara Falls Review. 3 May 1991. p. 4.
External links
- Hot Potato at IMDb
