''Caro diario'' () is a 1993 Italian-French

semi-autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

written, directed and co-produced by

Nanni Moretti Giovanni "Nanni" Moretti (; born 19 August 1953) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His films have won accolades, including a at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for ''The Son's Room'', a Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize ...

, who also stars as himself. The film is structured in three anthological episodes, presented as the chapters of Moretti's open diary, in which he describes his thoughts about various

slice of life Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to Naturalism (theatre), naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence ...

situations. The film was selected to compete for the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

at the

1994 Cannes Film Festival The 47th Cannes Film Festival took place from 12 to 23 May 1994. American filmmaker and actor Clint Eastwood served as jury president for the main competition. French actress Jeanne Moreau hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. American fil ...

, where Moretti won the Best Director Award.

Plot

Chapter I: ''In Vespa'' (''On My Vespa'')

Putting the hot

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

summer to good use,

dedicates himself to his favorite hobby, riding his

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian brand of scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of Pontedera, Italy, to a ...

through the streets of the half-deserted city. Here, Moretti lets the landscape inspire his thoughts: he laments the banalization of politics in contemporary

Italian cinema The cinema of Italy (, ) comprises the films made within Italy or by List of Italian film directors, Italian directors. Since its beginning, Italian cinema has influenced film movements worldwide. Italy is one of the birthplaces of art cinema and ...

, comments on the

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

of the

quarters of Rome The Quarters of Rome (Italian language, Italian: ''quartieri di Roma'') are the areas in and around the Italian city of Rome which became urbanised after the foundation of the last city-centre ''Rioni of Rome, rione'', Prati. They form the second ...

, mocks the overzealous critical reception of movies like '' Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'', and confesses his love for dance caused by the movie ''

Flashdance ''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer, Alex Owens, who aspires to become a professional ballerina, alongside Michael Nouri, who plays her ...

'' – later meeting its star

Jennifer Beals Jennifer Beals (born December 19, 1963) is an American actress. She made her film debut in ''My Bodyguard'' (1980), before receiving critical acclaim for her performance as Alexandra Owens in ''Flashdance'' (1983), for which she won NAACP Image ...

. Finally, he visits the place in Ostia where

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...

was killed, to pay his respects.

Chapter II: ''Isole'' (''Islands'')

Having to work on an idea for a new movie, Moretti decides to leave Rome for a while for the more peaceful

Aeolian Islands The Aeolian Islands ( ; ; ), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named after Aeolus, the mythical ruler of ...

. In

Lipari Lipari (; ) is a ''comune'' including six of seven islands of the Aeolian Islands (Lipari, Vulcano, Panarea, Stromboli, Filicudi and Alicudi) and it is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, Southern Italy; it is ...

he's the guest of his friend Gerardo, an austere scholar who moved there eleven years earlier to better study

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's ''

Ulysses Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, a legendary Greek hero recognized for his intelligence and cunning. He is famous for his long, adventurous journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, as narrated in Homer's Odyssey. Ulysses may also refer ...

'' without being distracted by modern commodities such as television, which he despises. However, both are unable to find the tranquility they're searching for since the number of tourists has suddenly increased. They move to Salina, where they are guests of two couples friends of Gerardo, both incapable of managing their hyperactive children, a feature that seems rampant on the entire island. Meanwhile, Gerardo begins watching television and gradually becomes completely addicted to it, and especially to

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

s. They move again, this time to

Stromboli Stromboli ( , ; ) is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing Mount Stromboli, one of the four active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the seven Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sicily, and the mytho ...

, where they are constantly bothered by a megalomaniac mayor who tries to involve them in the oddest projects. They finally move to Alicudi, frugal and isolated, lacking water and electricity. Here Moretti seems to have found the right place to focus on his project, but soon Gerardo runs away in despair to catch the last

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

, unable to live without his favorite soap operas, while disavowing his ideals and proclaiming undying love for cheap entertainment.

Chapter III: ''Medici'' (''Doctors'')

Moretti clarifies to the audience that the following chapter will be based on a true story happened to him some years earlier; one day, he begins to suffer from persistent

itching An itch (also known as pruritus) is a sensation that causes a strong desire or reflex to scratch. Itches have resisted many attempts to be classified as any one type of sensory experience. Itches have many similarities to pain, and while both ...

and

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...

. He visits many doctors and specialists, but they all dismiss him with different diagnosis, prescribing a lot of costly drugs and prohibiting him to eat most of his favorite food. Seeing no improvements, Moretti unsuccessfully tries alternative cures like

reflexology Reflexology, also known as zone therapy, is an alternative medical practice involving the application of pressure to specific points on the feet, ears, and hands. This is done using thumb, finger, and hand massage techniques without the use of ...

and

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...

. After almost a year, a doctor notices his developing cough during a visit and suggests him an

X-ray An X-ray (also known in many languages as Röntgen radiation) is a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than those of ultraviolet rays and longer than those of gamma rays. Roughly, X-rays have a wavelength ran ...

. That reveals a mass on his lung, which after a

biopsy A biopsy is a medical test commonly performed by a surgeon, interventional radiologist, an interventional radiologist, or an interventional cardiology, interventional cardiologist. The process involves the extraction of sampling (medicine), sample ...

is discovered to be a still-curable

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the lymph nodes. The condition was named a ...

. Moretti successfully goes through

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

and has the lymphoma cured. Sometime later, he reads the definition of Hodgkin's lymphoma in a basic

medical encyclopedia A medical encyclopaedia is a comprehensive written compendium that holds information about diseases, medical conditions, tests, symptoms, injuries, and surgeries. It may contain an extensive gallery of medicine-related photographs and illustration ...

, finding out that its most common symptoms are exactly itching and insomnia. Surrounded by the dozens of useless drugs he bought, Moretti laments the incapability of most doctors of listening to their patients, before making a bitter toast "to health" with a glass of water.

Cast

Source: ; Chapter I (''In Vespa'') ; Chapter II (''Isole'') ; Chapter III (''Medici'')

Reception

The film grossed L8.3 billion in Italy It also grossed $3.1 million in France.

Year-end lists

* 9th –

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...

, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' * Honorable mention – David Elliott, ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' * Honorable mention – Jeff Simon, ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...

Accolades

References

External links

*
Maslin, Janet. "One Worldview, Many Lively Vantage Points," ''The New York Times'', Monday, September 26, 1994.

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20091027060401/http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Choir/4792/moretti.html Shaked, Guy. "An analysis of Nanni Moretti's ''Caro Diario'' (''Dear Diary'')," geocities.com. {{Authority control 1993 comedy films 1993 films French comedy films Films directed by Nanni Moretti Films set in Rome Films set in Sicily Films set on islands Italian comedy films 1990s Italian-language films Self-reflexive films Slice of life films Films about cancer Films about film directors and producers Fictional diaries European Film Awards winners (films) Films scored by Nicola Piovani 1990s French films BAC Films films Semi-autobiographical films 1990s Italian films Films shot in Rome Italian-language comedy films Italian-language French films