Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa... (1965)

Director:

Luchino Visconti

Writers:

Suso Cecchi d'Amico (story) &
Enrico Medioli (story) ...

Release Date:

16 January 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Sandra is excitement! What Sandra does... is astonishing!

Plot:

Sandra comes back to Volterra, in Tuscany, the little town where she spent her childhood. She is with her American husband...

Plot Keywords:

Cult Director | Auschwitz | Incest | Brother Sister Relationship | Mother Daughter Relationship

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Claudia Cardinale	...	Sandra Dawson
Jean Sorel	...	Gianni Wald-Luzzati
Michael Craig	...	Andrew Dawson
Renzo Ricci	...	Antonio Gilardini
Fred Williams	...	Pietro Formari
Amalia Troiani	...	Fosca - maid
Marie Bell	...	Sandra's mother
Vittorio Manfrino
Renato Moretti
Giovanni Rovini
Paola Piscini
Isacco Politi
Ferdinando Scarfiotti

Also Known As:

Sandra (France)
Sandra of a Thousand Delights (USA) (dubbed version)
Vagues étoiles de la grande ourse (France) (literal title)

Runtime:

105 min | Argentina:100 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

Italian | Hebrew | French | English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:18

Company:

Vides Cinematografica

Soundtrack:

Prelude, chorale and fugue

Strange, made no sense, but for some reason, I liked it

This movie made very little sense to me. First of all, the subtitles (I'm not a fluent Italian) were written in white text over a frequently white background. The actors were very good, especially Claudia Cardinale as Sandra. The storyline itself, however, was a bit odd.

First of all, Sandra and Gianni had some strange preoccupation with being nearly naked. That didn't bother me, though. What bothered me was the fact that the storyline started at one point and never progressed. At the end of the movie, I knew little more than I did at the beginning. For example, what exactly happened with Sandra's parents and Giraldini and Pietro? Nothing was explained.

However, the movie was strangely captivating. I wanted to get up screaming 'WHAT'S GOING ON???' (and at some point, I probably did) but I never fund myself trying to escape the room. I kept wanting to know what was going on... I never did.

Although this comment may seem confusing, I would still recommend this movie. It's good for anyone who wants to know what Italian cinema is all about. Nearly all old Italian movies I've seen are the same.

They don't end. They just stop. 'Sandra' follows this standard.