Il cielo cade (2000)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Directors:

Andrea Frazzi
Antonio Frazzi

Writers:

Lorenza Mazzetti (novel)
Suso Cecchi d'Amico (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 May 2000 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

1943, an estate north of Firenze. The weight of the world is on the shoulders of Penny, who's about 10...

Plot Keywords:

Tuscany | Family Relationships | WWII | Italy | Nazi

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Isabella Rossellini	...	Katchen
Jeroen Krabbé	...	Wilhelm
Barbara Enrichi	...	Rosa
Gianna Giachetti	...	Elsa
Luciano Virgilio	...	Arthur
Azzurra Antonacci	...	Maria
Bruno Vetti	...	Il parroco
Selene Maltauro
Mauro Marino	...	Cosimo
Jonas Castelli	...	Filippo
Bettina Giovannini	...	Signora Pinzauti
Veronica Niccolai	...	Penny
Lara Campoli	...	Baby
Yelena Safonova	...	Maja (as Elena Sofonova)
Paul Brooke	...	Mr. Pitt

Also Known As:

The Sky Is Falling (USA) (DVD title)
The Sky Will Fall (International: English title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | German

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (cable rating) | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

Bivigliano, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

Company:

Istituto Luce

Trivia:

Jeroen Krabbé's name is misspelled "Jeroun" in the opening credits (which pronounced in Italian probably sounds more like the way his name should be pronounced).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Wilhelm is playing chess with the general, he performs a mate in 3 beginning with a rook sacrifice. However, on the last move he is seen to move his knight to the wrong square, giving only check instead of checkmate. There is a continuity error here, as in the next shot we see the knight on the correct square, delivering mate.

Wartime story of happiness and tragedy in wartime Tuscany

This film is a real treat. It depicts a loving, happy and slightly chaotic grand wartime household in Tuscany in 1944. The family is augmented by two orphaned children taken into care. Because life is seen from the child Penny's perspective, there are no really ugly scenes or characters, only the normal escapades and heartbreaks of a child growing up within the limited boundaries of house, school, forest and pool. That is, until the remnants of the retreating German army are billeted in the house, and fanatical eye of the SS officer uncovers the Jewish identity of the family. The shock of what follows is as searing as anything shown on screen, and confirms the terrible consequences of evil ideology.