Miracle in Milan (1951)

An open hearted and unrelentingly energetic orphan struggles to make the best out of his life on the streets of Milan.

Director:

Vittorio De Sica

Writers:

Cesare Zavattini (novel), Cesare Zavattini (screenplay)

Stars:

Emma Gramatica, Francesco Golisano, Paolo Stoppa

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Emma Gramatica	...	La vecchia Lolotta
Francesco Golisano	...	Totò
Paolo Stoppa	...	Rappi
Guglielmo Barnabò	...	Mobbi
Brunella Bovo	...	Edvige
Anna Carena	...	Marta, la signora altezzosa
Alba Arnova	...	La statua che prende vita
Flora Cambi	...	L'innamorata infelice
Virgilio Riento	...	Il sergente delle guardie
Arturo Bragaglia	...	Alfredo
Erminio Spalla	...	Gaetano
Riccardo Bertazzolo	...	L'atleta
Checco Rissone	...	Il comandante in secondo (as Francesco Rissone)
Angelo Prioli	...	Il comandante in primo

Storyline

An old woman finds a baby among the cauliflowers in her garden. She takes care of the orphan, and calls him Totò. When she dies, he is sent to an orphanage, which he leaves as a teenager. When Totò goes out in the world, he expects everyone to be open-hearted as himself, but it isn't so. Without belongings and a place to live, he soon turns up among other homeless people, living scattered in boxes and cement pipes on a vast, barren field outside Milano. With his energy and enthusiasm Totò quickly engages the outcasts in transforming the place into a small shanty town. The eccentric misfits are turned into a warm-hearted community. But when the wealthy Mr. Mobbi buys the land he will try to get rid of the outcasts.

---

Plot Keywords:

magic | orphan | poverty | homelessness | baby found in cabbage patch | 

---

Taglines:

An impudent, riotous laugh on the lives and morals of our day!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

17 December 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Miracle in Milan

Filming Locations:

Duomo, Milan, Lombardia, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni De Sica, Ente Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche (ENIC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vittorio de Sica's own son, Manuel, personally supervised the restoration of his father's film for DVD release.

---

Quotes

Totò: Would you like the sun?
[Edvige nods, so Totó looks toward the horizon, where the sun comes up in a few seconds]

---

Connections

Referenced in The Director's Angst (2015)

User Reviews

Weird and wonderful step away from Neorealism by Vittorio de Sica and Cesare Zavattini

Perhaps the last film you would expect to come from Vittorio de Sica and Cesare Zavattini (who wrote the novel on which this film is based). It's a neorealist fantasy, kind of an oxymoron, really. An old woman finds a baby in her cabbage patch and raises him as her own son. After a few years, the baby is a young boy (named Toto) and the adoptive mother is dying. He goes to an orphanage and, when he finally turns 18, he leaves. Immediately, he finds that he has no home. Toto is optimistic, though, and won't let anything get him down. A man steals his valise, and instead of getting angry over it, Toto becomes his friend and goes and stays with him in a small shantytown. Toto takes some initiative and organizes the many homeless living in the area and they build a better shantytown. Soon, the landowner is trying to sell this plot of land, and the citizens of the shantytown have to protect themselves. After many attempts, the owner mounts a force of police to get rid of the homeless. At this point, the film becomes full-fledged fantasy (before this it was more comedic/fantastic melodrama in the style of Charlie Chaplin). This stuff is so weird and shocking that it's probably best for others to see it for themselves. It's quite amazing, and very funny. There are objections you could raise about the plot of Miracle in Milan, most certainly. Fellini and Visconti were greatly criticized when they started to stray from Neorealism. I think I read this was widely criticized at the time of its release. At this point, though, it's so enjoyable - I loved it very much. It might be my favorite of Vittorio de Sica's films, although Umberto D and The Bicycle Thieves come very, very close. 10/10.