While she went through a period of cinematic deification after the success of Swept A way and Seven Beauties, Italian director Lina Wertmuller flopped with her last film, Night Full of Rain. This one should restore her reputation. Perhaps it's because of the all-star cast—Sophia Loren, ravishing at 45, Marcello Mastroianni and Wertmuller troupie Giancarlo Giannini. Loren plays a widow bent on avenging the murder of her husband. Mastroianni is an idealistic lawyer who falls in love with her, as does Giannini, the husband's cousin, and every other red-blooded Italian man in the plot. Set in Italy before Mussolini, the story touches on all of Wertmuller's favorite themes—love, death, sex and politics—and she mixes them into a tangy, absorbing film. (In Italian with English subtitles) (R)
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