I watched “Big Deal on Madonna Street” recently. I have no idea how long it was; I wasn’t keeping time as I was laughing out all the time. It was amazing; an all-star cast, though they mostly weren’t stars yet, great writing, and a plot that takes one on a fantastic ride with its twists and turns and surprise ending. what is about humour that is so appealing? It has this softening effect even on worst blows.
The film is about a group of desperate burglars who are trying to use ‘scientific’ methods to pull off a big job. From the onset, triumph seems utterly dubious, but that isn’t really the point. The film sheds light on to life in certain aspects of Italy and how Italians live. At least part of them. An overprotective brother who has locked up her sister in the house to ensure the family honor is preserved. An unemployed photographer, whose wife is in jail for forging passports, is left to care for his baby boy. An incompetent boxer, …
Their views, their paths, their dreams and aspirations, the cruelty of life, … all of this, and more, is portrayed in this I don’t know how long film, and yet one doesn’t come out of it with bitterness but with a sense of reflection, a sense of openness towards lives of others, and a fresh look at oneself. I suppose that is what art is supposed to do. The marvel of humor in all this is that it leaves you with hope and a fresh mind.
