''An Average Little Man'' ( it, Un borghese piccolo piccolo, 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. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Mario Monicelli Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the ''Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). He was nominated six times for an Oscar, and was aw ...

. 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, novelist and poet. Biography From 1967, he contributed or wrote screenplays or adapted screenplays for more than 40 films. In 1996, he was a member of the jury ...

. The movie mixes "Comedy Italian Style" (

commedia all'italiana Commedia all'italiana (, pl. Commedie all'italiana, "Comedy in the Italian way") 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 Ma ...

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

1977 Cannes Film Festival The 30th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 27 May 1977. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Padre Padrone'' by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. A new non-competitive section, "Le Passé composé", is held at this festival only and focuses on compilatio ...

Plot

Giovanni Vivaldi (Alberto Sordi) is a

petty bourgeois ''Petite bourgeoisie'' (, literally 'small bourgeoisie'; also anglicised as petty bourgeoisie) is a French term that refers to a social class composed of semi-autonomous peasants and small-scale merchants whose politico-economic ideological s ...

, modest

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

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, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

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, voice actor, singer, comedian, director and screenwriter. Early life Born in Rome to a schoolteacher and a musician and the last of five children, Sordi was named in hon ...

- Giovanni Vivaldi *

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

- Amalia Vivaldi * Vincenzo Crocitti - Mario Vivaldi * Romolo Valli - 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 - (as Francesca D'Adda Salvaterra) * Edoardo Florio * Ettore Garofolo - Young Man on Street

Awards

* 3

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''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 Cinema). There are 26 award ca ...

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

Nastro d'Argento The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italian ...

: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