''An Average Little Man'' (, literally meaning ''a petty petty bourgeois'', also known in English as ''A Very Little Man'') is a 1977 Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Mario Monicelli Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter, one of the masters of the ''commedia all'italiana'' ("Italian-style comedy"). He was nominated six times for an Academy Awards, Os ...

. It is based on the novel of the same name written by

Vincenzo Cerami Vincenzo Cerami (2 November 1940 – 17 July 2013) was an Italian screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwritin ...

. The movie mixes "Italian-Style Comedy" (

commedia all'italiana ''Commedia all'italiana'' () or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mario Monicelli's ''Big Deal on Madonna Street'' in 1958 ...

) with psychological drama tragedy. The film was an entrant in the

1977 Cannes Film Festival The 30th Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 27 May 1977. Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini served as jury president for the main competition. Italian filmmakers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top priz ...

. In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that "have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."

Plot

Giovanni Vivaldi (Alberto Sordi) is a petty bourgeois, modest

white-collar worker A white-collar worker is a person who performs professional service, desk, managerial, or administrative work. White-collar work may be performed in an office or similar setting. White-collar workers include job paths related to government, co ...

nearing retirement in a public office in the capital. His life is divided between work and family. With his wife Amalia (Shelley Winters) he shares high hopes for his son, Mario (Vincenzo Crocitti), a newly qualified accountant, not a particularly bright boy who willingly assists his father's efforts to make him hired in the same office. The father, in an attempt to guide his son, emphasizes the point of practicing humility in the presence of his superiors at work, and he enrolled himself in a

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

to help him gain friendships and favoritisms that, at first, he would never hope to have. Just as the attempts of Giovanni Vivaldi seems to turn to success, his son Mario is killed, hit by a stray bullet during a shootout that erupts following a robbery in which the father and son are accidentally involved. Misfortune and sufferings consequently distort the lives, beliefs and morality of the Vivaldis. Amalia becomes ill, loses her voice and becomes seriously handicapped. Giovanni, now blinded by grief and hatred, throws himself headlong into an isolated and desperate quest. He identifies his son's murderer, abducts him, takes him to a secluded cabin and submits him to torture and violence, eventually bringing the killer of his child to a slow death. Then, for Giovanni arrives - at his set date - his retirement and, only a day later, the death of his wife, who had by now been overcome by her disability. Giovanni is now prepared with serenity and resignation to live into old age, but a spontaneous verbal confrontation with a young idler revives in him the role of an executioner who will, presumably, kill again.

Cast

Alberto Sordi Alberto Sordi (15 June 1920 – 24 February 2003) was an Italian actor, comedian, voice dubber, director, singer, composer and screenwriter. Sordi is considered one of the most important actors in the history of Italian cinema and one of the b ...

- Giovanni Vivaldi *

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American film actress whose career spanned seven decades. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film), The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ' ...

- Amalia Vivaldi *

Vincenzo Crocitti Vincenzo Crocitti (16 July 1949 – 29 September 2010) was an Italian cinema and television actor. Crocitti was born in Rome. He won a David di Donatello and a Nastro d'Argento for the role of Mario Vivaldi in '' An Average Little Man''. Select ...

- Mario Vivaldi *

Romolo Valli Romolo Valli (7 February 1925 – 1 February 1980) was an Italian actor. Valli was born in Reggio Emilia. He was one of the best-known Italian actors from the 1950s to his death. He worked for both the stage and the silver screen. Among the ...

- Dr. Spaziani * Renzo Carboni - Robber *

Enrico Beruschi Enrico Beruschi (born 5 September 1941) is an Italian comedian, actor, singer and television personality. He studied at the Italian Liceo classico in Milan, having Cochi Ponzoni as his deskmate. Formerly employed in a food company, Beruschi beg ...

- Toti * Marcello Di Martire *

Francesco D'Adda Francesco D'Adda (born 15 October 1943) is an Italian actor. He appeared in more than seventy films since 1970. Selected filmography References External links

* 1943 births Living people Italian male film actors {{Italy-film-ac ...

- (as Francesca D'Adda Salvaterra) *

Edoardo Florio Edoardo is the Italian form of the English male given name Edward. Notable people named Edoardo include: * Edoardo Agnelli (industrialist) (1892–1935), Italian industrialist * Edoardo Alfieri (1913–1998), Italian sculptor * Edoardo Amaldi (190 ...

* Ettore Garofolo - Young Man on Street

Awards

* 3

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello, bronze), David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (the Academy of Italian Cin ...

: Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor (Alberto Sordi). * 4

Nastro d'Argento The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...

:Best Actor, Best Script, Best New Actor (Vincenzo Crocitti), Best Supporting Actor (Romolo Valli).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Average Little Man 1977 films 1970s Italian-language films 1977 drama films Commedia all'italiana Films directed by Mario Monicelli Films set in Italy Italian vigilante films Italian films about revenge Films with screenplays by Vincenzo Cerami Films based on Italian novels 1970s Italian films Films about Freemasonry Years of Lead (Italy) films