Films Outside the Loop Jeanne Chappé

Roberto Benigni used to be Italy's secret treasure until "Life is Beautiful" aka "La Vita é Bella" won an Oscar for best foreign language film. He was no longer Italy's 'secret' after the ceremonies!

I sometimes have a bit of trouble with subtitled films. I tend to get wrapped up in reading the subtitles and I miss the action OR I begin to think that I can understand the language and forget to read the subtitles at all. This film is worth reading the subtitles for the outlandish slapstick laughs!

This is a total Roberto Benigni film as he co-wrote it, co-directed it and stars in it with his frenetic comedic talent. Roberto's wife (in real life), Nicoletta Braschi, co-stars in this film and they play against one another beautifully!

Roberto plays Loris. Loris works occasionally...moving mannequins. He is being evicted from his apartment and he is being tortured by the neighbor's kids who throw dead cats at him. Loris is also a petty thief. The police have been working for 12 years to catch a serial rapist/killer who chops up his female victims. Through a series of hysterical mishaps, the police decide that Loris is the perpetrator of these heinous murders.

The police decide to videotape Loris in an attempt to catch him red-handed as they have no actual proof that he is the killer. They also send in an undercover police woman who is instructed to 'unleash his erotic urges' by any means possible. Nicoletta Braschi plays the undercover agent, Jessica, and she is drop dead gorgeous! Jessica moves in with Loris and she literally parades around the apartment naked but she doesn't get the response from Loris that the police expect. Jessica begins to suspect that Loris is NOT the sex maniac that the police have been tracking for 12 years.

Loris also has a dwarf in his closet. "Bashful". This convinces the police that he is the guilty party! Then the 19th woman is raped, murdered and dismembered. My favorite line in this film was..."The mouse nibbles and the cheese runs off"!

Runtime: 1:52

This film is available on DVD, VHS, cable or satellite.

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