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Mid-August Lunch (2009)Mid-August Lunch (2009)

Mid-August Lunch (2009)

A gorgeous, warm Italian comedy about a special kind of sleepover

Comedy

best
THE VERY BEST

8.1

movie

Italy
Italian
Character-driven, Grown-up Comedy, Lighthearted
2009
Gianni Di Gregorio
Alfonso Santagata, Gianni Di Gregorio, Maria Calì
75 min

Synopsis

rotten tomatoes
imdb
wikipedia
Gianni is a middle-aged man living in Rome with his imposing and demanding elderly mother. His only outlet from her and the increasing debt into which they are sinking, are the increasingly frequent quiet sessions at the local tavern. As an Oriental saying goes, 'Moments of crisis are moments of opportunities'. These appear during the celebration of the holiday of Ferragosto on 15 August. That's when everybody leaves town to have fun. Opportunity knocks on Gianni's door in the most unexpected way.

Our Take

8.1
The Staff

Director Gianni Di Gregorio’s gorgeous debut is an understated masterpiece about a bachelor who is his mother’s caregiver. The movie takes place almost entirely in Di Gregorio’s family home in central Rome, a beautiful, big, and well-furnished apartment that his character can’t afford any longer. 

To catch a break from rent, he agrees to host the landlord’s mother while the landlord goes on holiday. The same for his and his mother’s medical bills, and the doctor shows up with yet another elderly woman.  

Di Gregorio finds himself running an impromptu elderly home, with conflicts rising about who gets to watch TV and whose dietary restrictions should be respected. But his calm demeanor, love for cooking, and a lot of white wine make him the perfect man for the job.

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