We All Loved Each Other So Much
1974 · Directed by Ettore Scola
Original language: Italian
- drama
- comedy
The story
Three partisans bound by a strong friendship return home after the war, but the clash with everyday reality puts a strain on their bond.
What it’s like
Warm, wry and bittersweet, with the shifting textures of post-war Italy woven through every scene. Ettore Scola moves between decades with an easy, roving camera: quick cuts through cramped apartments, crowded piazzas and smoky cafés, black-and-white newsreel inserts giving way to lush colour as the years pass. Light is mostly natural and unfussy, morning sun through shutters, dusty afternoon glare, the soft amber of evening rooms. Nino Manfredi, Vittorio Gassman and Stefania Sandrelli carry much of the film's ease, their faces often framed close as old loyalties and small disappointments surface over shared meals and late-night arguments. Scenes move at a brisk, conversational clip, with a bustling score of accordion and strings that swells into nostalgia and then quietly steps back. The mood is gently melancholic and often funny, a rueful look at idealism softening into ordinary life. There is some sexual content and an occasional sharp argument, but no graphic violence. Well suited to a reflective evening or a slow weekend watch, for viewers who enjoy character-driven Italian comedy with a sigh behind the laughter.
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