Favorite Italian Films: Il 7 e l’8

There are days when you just need a laugh, and that’s when you pull your favorite funny film off the shelf. This week Cherrye Moore from My Bella Vita is back to tell us about her favorite comic Italian film. Even if comedies aren’t your first movie choice, you’ll enjoy traveling to Palermo, Sicily with the beautiful setting for this movie. I know this one has been added to my must see list for the next time I need a funny Italian escape!

Welcome, Cherrye!

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Like many expats in Italy, practicing the language, working on grammar and perfecting pronunciation is a non-stop, never-ending job (that doesn’t pay overtime).  As I mentioned last month here at Ciao Amalfi, I think watching Italian movies is the best ways to kick your Italian language skills up at notch. I make every effort to watch them, whether they are serious, like my all-time favorite Italian movie, La Vita è Bella, or shall we say … silly, like another one of my favorites – Il 7 e l’8.

Il 7 e l’8, or “7 and 8,” in English, was a 2007 hit that stars the nationally-famous Sicilian comedy duo, Salvatore Ficarra and Valentino Picone. It was one of the first Italian films I tackled at the theater and if you are familiar with Italian TV, you may have seen this pair on Striscia la Notizia or in one of the other handful of movies they’ve starred in together. These faces look familiar?

Photo credits

I’m not usually one for slapstick comedy and I have to admit sometimes Italian humor is lost on me. But I just loved this movie.

The premise is simple. Two boys born on the same day in the same hospital are switched at birth by an angry nurse and live separate lives-one is a petty crook, the other a straight arrow-until their paths cross 30 years later.

Not only is the movie filmed in Palermo, offering great scenery and insight into this Sicilian city, but it is also a fun way to learn more about Sicilian culture, customs and expressions. The movie is easy to follow, so as with all Italian films, you’ll feel like you missed something if you watch it dubbed into English-if this is even a possibility. Still, if you feel like you need a little help, just switch on the subtitles and follow along, with both audio and subtitles set to Italian and get ready to giggle. It’s not the most serious movie you’ll set your sights on, but it is a cute, feel-good, learn-some-new-Italian-words flick that isn’t work for us non-Italians to watch.

So, if you’ve seen it, let me know what you think. And if you haven’t, then consider renting it the next time you are the mood for a fun Italian film.

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Cherrye Moore is an American travel writer and consultant who organizes Calabria tours in southern Italy. She writes about travel for MNUI Travel Insurance and about traveling in Calabria on her site, My Bella Vita.