Marriage Italian Style (1964)

It tells the story of a man who kept a woman as his mistress for
several years and now plans to marry another woman until his
mistress pretends to be on her deathbed to trick him to marry her before she dies. [wiki]

Nominated for 2 Oscars* (64/65):

Best Actress: Sophia Loren (as a 1964 film)
Best Foreign Language Film: Italy (as a 1965 film)

From what I can tell I never posted on this blog other movie photos than the film posters themselves. But there's something so kinky and vulgar and glamorous at the same time about Sophia here, that I just had to put it. What a beauty! What a talent!

However, I can't say the same about the film: it's a weak movie, with a paper thin story. The idea is good, but the execution lacks creativity and the film doesn't develop to what it could've been. Marcello gives a mediocre dislikeable performance, so it's all on Sophia's shoulders. And she delivers, especially considering that the screenplay shows all kinds of different ages of the character. She is convincing and funny and sexy, but can only act as much as the screenplay allows. See Marriage just for Sophia.

My rating for the film: 5.5/10. It has nothing to do with the brilliant Divorce Italian Style, one of my alltime favorites also starring Mastroianni.