Comencini directed this film when he was 73. Who better to confront a subject such as love in later life with such clarity and tenderness? He stated: “I love elderly people as much as children because they are vulnerable. They are authentic, their imagination isn’t mutilated by social obligations. They share the same whims and sensitivities, they love sweets, and the thought of being abandoned terrifies them.” The performances of Virna Lisi and Michel Serrault are an essential part of the success of this film, which, in the words of Le Monde: “makes laughs frown and tears smile”.
A retired couple is forced to live apart from each other. Due to economic reasons, they move in with the families of two of their children. But they soon realise that being apart deprives them of their joy of living, and so they start meeting secretly, like two young lovers. Eventually they will find a way to live together again, in a lighthouse on a remote island.
Comencini directed this film when he was 73. Who better to confront a subject such as love in later life with such clarity and tenderness? He stated: “I love elderly people as much as children because they are vulnerable. They are authentic, their imagination isn’t mutilated by social obligations. They share the same whims and sensitivities, they love sweets, and the thought of being abandoned terrifies them.” The performances of Virna Lisi and Michel Serrault are an essential part of the success of this film, which, in the words of Le Monde: “makes laughs frown and tears smile”.
A retired couple is forced to live apart from each other. Due to economic reasons, they move in with the families of two of their children. But they soon realise that being apart deprives them of their joy of living, and so they start meeting secretly, like two young lovers. Eventually they will find a way to live together again, in a lighthouse on a remote island.
