Line #19 Film/DivorceItalianStyle


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3	''Divorce Italian Style'' (''Divorzio all'italiana'') is a 1961 BlackComedy by Italian filmmaker Pietro Germi. The film details [[ImpoverishedPatrician impoverished]] Sicilian aristocrat Don Ferdinando "Fefè" Cefalù (Creator/MarcelloMastroianni) who lives in a ruin of a stately mansion with his large family that includes his father, a notorious gambler and womanizer; his saintly mother; his OldMaid sister (often joined by her boyfriend, who works as an undertaker); his loving and smothering wife, Rosalia. Also occupying the mansion (in fact a greater part of it) are Fefè's unpleasant Uncle Calogero (who actually owns the place thanks to bailing out Fefè;s father) and his family, the most important of whom from Fefè's perspective is Calogero's beautiful 16-year old daughter, Angela, who he’s infatuated with, and who he discovers returns his affections.
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5	The film revolves around Ferdinando's plot to murder Rosalia, which will then enable him to marry Angela. He seeks to receive a slap-on-the-wrist for the crime, seizing on a provision of the Italian penal code of the time which allowed a "wronged" husband to receive a light sentence for killing his wife (and usually her lover as well) if he caught them "in the act". So, Fefè decides to set Rosalia up to have an affair, so that he can murder her and benefit from the code provision. HilarityEnsues.
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8	!!This film contains examples of:
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10	* AgeGapRomance: 37 year-old Ferdinando is in love with his 16 year-old cousin Angela. But that's the least of his worries.
11	* BigOlUnibrow: Rosalia has a fine one which, combined with the [[GirlsWithMustaches peach fuzz]] on her upper lip, makes her look somewhat unsightly.
12	* CelebrityParadox: One setpiece in the movie involves the townsfolk going to see a showing of ''Film/LaDolceVita'', which starred Marcello Mastroianni, who plays Ferdinando. Ferdinando does not stay to watch the whole film, and thus does not see "himself" onscreen.
13	* CuckoldHorns: Ferdinando [[AstroTurf creates fake letters]] warning him of his cuckolding, some of which include a caricature of himself with stag's horns.
14	* DivorceRequiresDeath: The entire plot revolves around this trope- Fefè plots to murder his wife since he can't divorce her. In fact, the film's title amounts to a bitter joke that his plot is the Italian version of divorce.
15	* DoubleStandard: In-universe, it is noted how the relevant law in the Italian penal code referred to a man avenging honor, thus seemingly ruling out any woman being able to benefit from the provision. Fefè is actually inspired by the case of a murderess, who received a relatively light sentence of 8 years for killing the man who impregnated and abandoned her. However, the provision of the Italian code demanded a maximum sentence of 7 years [[spoiler:and Fefè himself ends up receiving 3 years- slightly less than the minimum]], so the system is definitely favoring men over women when it comes to HonorKilling.
16	* TheEndOrIsIt: [[spoiler:Ferdinando ends up marrying Angela. Few months into their marriage while sailing at sea, they share a passionate kiss as the camera pans down to Angela playing footsie with the young sailor piloting the boat, with obvious intent of cuckolding him in the near future.]]
17	* GirlsWithMustaches: Rosalia has a faint mustache on her upper lip.
18	* HonorKilling: Central to the plot is a practice of HonorKilling done by cuckolded men, which was effectively condoned by the legal system of the time.
19	* ImpoverishedPatrician: Ferdinando belongs to the noble Cefalù family, and for all intents and purposes, the family name is still recognized by the town. The only issue seems to be that their extended family is eating them out of house and home, and the palace is in various states of disrepair.
20	* KarmaHoudini: Ferdinando ends up being one for the most part [[spoiler:He's imprisoned for 3 years- slightly less than the minimum sentence for the murder he committed- and is when he returns home is welcomed as a hero by the whole town. He marries Angela and ends up happier than he's been in years. The only wrinkle on everything turning out perfectly for him is that the very last scene indicates that Angela will soon be cuckolding him, although he's oblivious to it.]]
21	* KissingCousins: Fernandino is pining for the love of his cousin Angela, and Angela reciprocates, but the complications come from the fact that the former is a married man, hence the premise.
22	* TheMafia: One of the prominent citizens of the town to whom Ferdinando pays respect is TheDon who heads the local Mafia. Early in the film, Ferdinando considers seeking him out in order to arrange Rosalia's murder, but rules it out because he'd be indebted to The Don for the rest of his life. Still, The Don does help Fefè by disclosing to him the location where Rosalia and her lover are holed up.
23	* ThePerfectCrime: While Ferdinando's plotting is atypical in that he fully expects and plans to be caught and jailed, it fits the trope in that he sets up circumstances that will allow him to commit premeditated murder and receive a very light sentence.
24	* VillainProtagonist: Ferdinando is plotting to murder his loving wife for about 90% of the film and leching on Angela for the other 10%, but thanks to his POV and the film's humorous tone, he's oddly sympathetic.

Context Film / DivorceItalianStyle