CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

PimpinAinttEasy The Most Lovely Wife is a gritty Italian crime thriller directed by Damiano Damiani. This is my first film by this director and I was very impressed. A patriarchal mafia boss who is about to be arrested, tells his young protégé that he must marry a beautiful wife who is poor and uneducated. The arrogant and impressionable young man sets his sights on a poor and seemingly gullible peasant girl and even scares away her fiancée. Even though the peasant girl falls for the young man, she refuses to marry him. He kidnaps and rapes her to show his enemies (who taunt him about her) that he is a man. Instead of caving down and marrying him, the girl (Ornella Muti) goes to the police and tries to get the young mafiosi arrested. Her family and society turn against her.The films locations alternates between the Sicilian country side and the city. Some of the poor Sicilians are portrayed as backward and impotent. Like other Italian films of this period (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion), the police and clergy are portrayed as extremely corrupt.The score by Ennio Morricone (which attracted me to this wonderful film) is spectacular - it sort of adds to the gradual build up of conflict between the sexes. Ornella Muti is bewitching as the young peasant girl who fights back. She almost looks like a young innocent witch as she slowly takes down the man who has wronged her. What an actress! - she was only 14 when she made this. She is a perfect foil for the arrogant and cruel young mafioso (Alessio Orano).The film did have a rather unimaginative title sequence. I couldn't believe this was the best the director could come up with when he had such a terrific score by Morricone.

D_vd_B Most other comments are right on the spot.Excellent movie, good acting and marvellous music.There are a few things i'd like to add. Sometimes, this film slows down a bit, but never long enough to It's not a genre movie at all, but if you would want to tag it, I'd give it a thriller label.The main trouble with films like this is that it so hard to 'like' them. Not that this one is pure depressing, but you'll get to see a desperate world on the bottom of the mafia and the place where it has its roots. And it isn't like the godfather.My final verdict is an 8 out of 10. There is nothing wrong with this movie, but it hasn't the 100% perfection for a higher score. Still, very gripping and plain good.

bensonmum2 The Most Beautiful Wife is the kind of movie I usually avoid. I usually don't go for these overly depressing tales. But The Most Beautiful Wife is oddly compelling and drew me in from the start. The film is based on a true story and deals with the barbaric treatment of women (who am I kidding, these are girls) at the hands of their future husbands. Rape was an acceptable means of forcing a marriage. No other man would want the woman as she was no longer a virgin.But as depressing as the subject matter may be, director Damiano Damiani and cinematographer Franco Di Giacomo created an incredibly lovely film with The Most Beautiful Wife. The contrast between the green, lush farm lands and the crumbling city scenes is pleasing. And Ennio Morricone's score is what I've come to expect - a work of genius. It suits the film perfectly.Ornella Muti gives a terrific performance in the title role. And when you consider that this was her first film and that she was only 14 years old, it makes all the more amazing. As the whole film is centered around her and as she is the focal point of almost every scene, it's imperative that her performance be believable if The Most Beautiful Wife has a chance at all to work. She pulls it off flawlessly. I doubt an actress twice her age with years of experience could have done any better. It's an impressive piece of work.

Close_The_Door Damiano Damiani is perhaps the Italian filmmaker most inspired by American cinema. He links political commitment to excellent thriller style. "La moglie piu' bella" is still shocking for me, knowing it is inspired by the true story of Franca Viola in 1965. The atmosphere is disquieting thanks to the the film-making and Ennio Morricone's music. This is also the first film of Ornella Muti, who was 14 years old at the time and pretended to be ill not to go to school for two months - the time of recording. It reminds me "La ragazza con la pistola" (The girl with the gun) by Mario Monicelli with Monica Vitti, although this one is much more ironic and aims at ridiculing certain Sicilians customs to better fight them.