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| Director: Silvio Soldini
Actors: Licia Maglietta, Bruno Ganz, Giuseppe Battiston, Antonio Catania, Marina Massironi
Studio: Sony Pictures
List Price: $21.96
Buy New: $6.99
You Save: $14.97 (68%)
New (2) Used (8) Collectible (2) from $2.00
Rating:  78 reviews
Sales Rank: 13881
Format: Color, Subtitled, Ntsc
Language: English (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 114 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0767890493
UPC: 043396086968
EAN: 9780767890496
ASIN: B00005Y74B
Theatrical Release Date: 2000
Release Date: March 26, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New! Mint in box. Factory sealed.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 26-30 of 78
 Gently hilarious, humane, and refreshing May 8, 2004
Miles D. Moore (Alexandria, VA USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
"Bread and Tulips," Silvio Soldini's gently hilarious comedy, allows viewers to revel in a lovely story about the renewal of life and hope. It bears some resemblance to "Under the Tuscan Sun," but benefits from a stronger story and more fully realized characters. It also has some similarities to David Lean's "Summertime"--another beloved movie about a middle-aged woman finding romance in Venice--but the mood in "Bread and Tulips" is more sweet than bittersweet. Rosalba (Licia Maglietta), a bored housewife, is left behind on vacation with her crabby family when their tour bus leaves without her. Rather than going straight home to Pescara on the Abruzzi coast, she decides on a whim to head up to Venice, where she has never been. From there on in, the movie is very much about the renewal of the spirit--not only Rosalba's, but also that of Fernando (Bruno Ganz), the romantic restaurateur who falls for Rosalba, and Constantino (Giuseppe Battiston), the tubby, sad-sack plumber who reluctantly spies on Rosalba as a prerequisite for getting a job from Rosalba's bossy husband. These three actors give delightful performances, as do the other players in this quirky romantic comedy. Particularly enjoyable for American audiences is that Soldini places us in a Venice rarely seen in the tourist brochures. San Marco and other wonders are seen only in passing; most of the action takes place in Venice's back streets, among the rainbow-hued houses, tiny fountain-centered courtyards, and toy bridges crossing narrow canals. The photography is lovely, and looks sensational in the DVD transfer. "Bread and Tulips" is a two-hour vacation in a sweeter, gentler world.
 Like a pleasant dream on a lazy summer day. October 29, 2004
J. Koch (Boston, USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
A bored middle aged housewife whose family leaves her at a bus stop goes to Venice on a whim. She meets a charmingly eccentric cast of characters that lets her find relief from her daily life. She leaves routine behind and rediscovers life's pleasures and enjoyments. The film manages to show a serious mid-life crisis in a style that's heartwarming and comedic if not very realistic. I especially liked how it shows her anxieties about her family in dream sequences. That helps deal with the seriousness of worrying for her sons without taking away from the pleasant tone of the movie. Bread and Tulips has a marvelous cast and is beautifully filmed in Venice.
Lovely... January 15, 2005
JR Peterman (Ukiah, CA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a lovely, classy and gently sweet sort of romantic comedy. Much more about spreading one's wing than falling in love, it doesn't follow the trend of American comedies, which can be cutesy or racy. This is subtle and kindly toward its flawed and endearing characters. The actors look and act like real people, though in America they'd be considered "dark," the Italians use dry wit and optimism to create an enjoyable and uplifting film.
I love this movie! May 30, 2005
bukmdano3
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I just discovered this gem of a movie upon returning from my first vacation to Italy. This film is everything the positive reviewers have said and more....great scenes of the the "real" Venice (not overpopulated with tourists), a terrific story, and superb acting. In the same way the film Amelie is uplifting, touching, and inspiring, the same can be said for Bread and Tulips. The best part is what one takes away from this film...life is meant to be lived with passion. I could and will watch this movie over and over again and never tire of it!
Light and witty, but with a serious undertone December 31, 2006
Dennis Littrell (SoCal)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This is a wry, witty Italian comedy with a underlying radical message I don't think the Vatican would approve. Licia Malietta stars as Rosalba Barletta a woman not enamored with either her macho, inconsiderate husband Mimmo Barletta (Antonio Catania) or her life as a housewife. On a vacation she is accidentally left behind in Venice, and then on a whim decides to stay for awhile. She needs to breathe free from the domination of her husband who sees her only as an asset and doesn't love her. Indeed he has a mistress.
What she finds in Venice are new warm friends and a certain man, Fernando Girasoli (played with sly finesse by veteran Swiss-born actor Bruno Ganz), who speaks in poetic phrases but wants to hang himself. She also rediscovers a delight in life and the freedom to be herself and do what she wants to do, which includes playing the accordion and reading Mark Twain in bed. She finds a job in a flower shop, a small room, makes friends with the masseuse next door and feels alive for the first time in ages.
Her husband sends a plumber he is about to hire to play detective, find her and bring her back, resulting in some light comedic episodes enriched by off-beat characters.
Malietta is very winning in the part and certainly will serve as a heroine for frustrated housewives everywhere. Her desire is not for a fling or for physical thrills, rather her desire is to find herself as herself apart from her identification as wife and mother.
I have hinted above at her eventual choice, but you will have to see this warm-hearted romantic comedy for yourself to find out what she chooses and why.
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