Wondrous Boccaccio

Wondrous Boccaccio
-Maraviglioso Boccaccio-
Directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Produced by Luigi Musini
Donatella Palermo
Screenplay by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Based on The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
Starring Lello Arena
Paola Cortellesi
Carolina Crescentini
Music by Giuliano Taviani
Carmelo Travia
Cinematography Simone Zampagni
Edited by Roberto Perpignani
Distributed by Stemal Entertainment - Cinemaundici Film
Release dates
 2015
Running time
 120 min
Country Italy - France
Language Italian

Wondrous Boccaccio (Italian: Maraviglioso Boccaccio) is an italian film directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. It is loosely based on stories from The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.

Plot

In 1300, in Florence, some young people of rich families are fleeing the city haunted by the plague. They take refuge in a large country house, and spend their time telling stories. Every ten stories told in one day, the group of boys elect a king or queen of the day, and he must invent stories, which have various kinds and topics.

The first story is set in Salerno. Duke Tancredi wants to marry the daughter Ghismunda with a rich man. But she loves a handsome young man, the father finds out him and kills the guy. Ghismunda is torn by grief, and she melts the heart of his beloved in a cup where pours poison. Ghismunda drinks the poison and dies the day before the wedding.

In the second story: the knight Federico Alberighi arrives at a country farmhouse. The man loves falcons, and he has one, his travel partner. The farmer who receives the knight, immediately falls in love with him, but she is too poor, and hasn't nothing to cook for Federico. So, not knowing this, the woman kills the falcon of knight and kitchens it. Federico is frantic with grief, and runs away from the house.

Third story: in Florence the villain Calandrino is traveling with friends looking for a stone that has the power to make invisible. The three friends want to find it to accomplish some theft, however Calandrino soon realizes that the myth of the stone invisible is a scam. In fact his two friends, after the deception, convince him to eat dog dung, so that he can steal a pig undisturbed, without being discovered by the owner. But the two friends deceive him again, stealing the pork of Calandrino.

City of Certaldo. The mother superior of a convent has a lover. But she hides the matter, and shows, as always, strict with the nuns, who hate her. One day the nuns of the convent discover a nun in the arms of a man, and go to denounce adultery to the mother superior. Even though the mothe superior are playing with her lover. So, in a hurry, the mother superior slips as the headgear underpants of lover, and she is discovered by the nuns. At the end of the story, the mother superior is forced to pardon the sisters, and declares that each of them can bring in the convent the lover them wants, as long as the news adulterers do not come out of the monastery.

The last story is set in Modena. Messer Gentile Garisendi has a mistress: Catalina, wife of Nicoluccio. Gentile, for possessing her, creates a staging, making people of the city believe that Ghismunda is dead. She is buried, and then Messer Gentile makes her escape. With her, Messer Gentile generates a son. When he grows up, leads Nicoluccio back to his wife. Messer Gentile, who enjoyed enough the love with her, now is holding the guy working in the world of business.

Cast

Production

The film was produced through Cinemaundici and Stemal Entertainment with support from Rai Cinema. Filming took place in Tuscany during ten weeks, from 31 March 2014.[1][2]

References

  1. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa (2014-03-13). "MK2 Int'l Acquires the Taviani Brothers' 'Maraviglioso Boccaccio'". Variety. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  2. ↑ De Marco, Camillo (2014-03-27). "Paolo and Vittorio Taviani to shoot Maraviglioso Boccaccio". Cineuropa. Retrieved 2015-01-12.