Capriccio All'italiana (1968) Apr 2026

These stories, while unrelated, weave together a portrait of a nation struggling to understand its own shifting identity. It remains a cult artifact of 1960s Italian cinema, most notable for being the final screen appearance of the beloved comedian . Caprice Italian Style (1968) - IMDb

: Directed by Mario Monicelli , it tells the story of a nurse who is horrified to find the children in her care reading "corrupting" modern comics. To save them, she reads them classic fairy tales, unaware that the old-world violence of wolves and ogres is far more traumatizing than any comic book.

The film operates like a fever dream of social commentary, where every story serves as a "caprice"—a sudden, unaccountable change of mood or behavior. Capriccio all'italiana (1968)

: Often cited as the film's poetic masterpiece, this Pasolini segment follows marionettes (played by Totò and Ninetto Davoli ) performing Othello. When they are eventually thrown into a garbage heap, they look up at the sky for the first time, marveling at the beauty of the clouds—finally free from their strings.

: A queen on a state visit to an African nation accidentally gives a speech meant for a completely different country, oblivious to the reality of the people standing right in front of her. These stories, while unrelated, weave together a portrait

: Directed by Steno , this segment features the legendary Totò as a man obsessed with "civilizing" the youth. He spends his Sundays kidnapping long-haired "beatniks" just to forcibly give them masculine haircuts, a satirical jab at the older generation's fear of the counterculture.

: A man stuck in a traffic jam is goaded by his wife into a fit of road rage. What begins as a simple delay escalates into a brutal, absurd confrontation, highlighting the thin veneer of civility in modern society. To save them, she reads them classic fairy

: The final act follows a lawyer's wife who is so consumed by suspicion that she forces him to move his office into their home so she can vet every female client.