A great film, and the more time passes since watching it the more I find myself liking it and wanting to see it again. It strikes this nice balance between comedy and tragedy, between beauty and grotesquerie, between happiness and sadness and though at times the characters can grate a tiny bit for the most part the film is highly amusing, thoroughly dramatically engaging and very affecting.

A must for anyone interested with Lina Wertmuller or Giancarlo Giannini, who gives a surprisingly low-key, pathetic performance unlike his usual macho (even if also quite pathetic) roles.

Simply outstanding.

An intensely tragic, sad film about sympathetic human beings confronted with the brutality of life. Mariangela Melato is outstanding as the whore Salome, but it is Giancarlo Gianninni as the sad, shy, uncertain Tonino that delivers one of the greatest performances I have ever seen. The scene where Tonino shouts his declaration to kill Mussolini to the cops is one of the most simultaneously and horrific things ever filmed. A true masterpiece.

A thing of wonder and joy and sadness [I don't know if I've ever felt this way about a movie, it's all-encompassing]. Such virtuoso filmmaking, there's not an edit that feels rushed, a frame that feels off. Giannini's character is so full of virtue, completely resolute in what he must do and the consequences of it; with marvelous supporting characters popping up in the usual Italian fashion. One of the finest scripts I've ever witnessed if all the rest wasn't enough.

Mine one of best Italian movies....