''Mondo candido'' is a 1975 Italian

black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

film by Mondo directors Gualtiero Jacopetti and

Franco Prosperi Franco Prosperi (2 September 1926 – 17 October 2004) was an Italian film director and screenwriter, active between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s. Career Born in Rome, Prosperi began his career as an assistant director with Mario Bava ...

. It is a liberal adaptation of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

's 1759 novel ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

''. An orphan boy is raised by a baron in Westphalia. A local philosopher teaches him a purely optimistic view of the world. The baron exiles the boy when he realizes that his ward is in love with the baron's daughter. The baron and his wife are killed shortly after by outlaw bikers. The boy searches the world for his love interest, and he has first-hand experiences with the Holy Inquisition, with

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, and with the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Plot

Candido ( Christopher Brown) is a naïve young man raised by a Westphalian baron ( Gianfranco D'Angelo) in the castle of Thunder-ten-Tronckh. He is a devoted disciple of his tutor Dr. Pangloss ( Jacques Herlin), a philosopher who instructs him with a purely optimistic moral doctrine. Candido cannot hide his feelings for the Baron's raunchy daughter Cunegonda (Michele Miller), and one day the Baron discovers them in intimacy. Outraged by this gesture, he punishes the girl and expels the young man from the court. Having stumbled upon a camp of Bulgarian soldiers, the orphan is deceived and forced into useless and dangerous experiments on human flight. Candido manages to escape and, during the journey, meets Pangloss. The master informs him that the castle was attacked by a gang of motorcyclists who killed the Baron and the Baroness, and raped Cunegonda. Later, the two are imprisoned by the Holy Inquisition. The tutor is sentenced to death for his utopian ideas, while to the boy suffers corporal punishment. Among the high-ranking people who attend the executions is Cunegonda, forced to be the lover of the head of the Tribunal. After the young lovers briefly reunite, the inquisitor arrives and, to avoid being hanged, Candido has to escape again, accompanied by his new friend Cacambo, a slave who has escaped from his master. The two embark for the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

"where all are equal". In today's

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Candido finds Pangloss, who also escaped the gallows and now works as a television director. Always in search of Cunegonda, the protagonist and Cacambo travel first in

, devastated by the clashes between Catholics and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, then in a military camp for Israeli female soldiers, during the

. Here, Candido learns that Cunegonda has fled with a

fedayeen Fedayeen ( ''fidāʻiyyūn'' "self-sacrificers") is an Arabic language, Arabic term used to refer to various military groups willing to sacrifice themselves for a larger campaign. Etymology "Fidayun" is the plural of "fidayi" ( ''fidāʻiyy'' ...

. After further ups and downs, the young man finally manages to reunite with his loved one.

Cast

* Christopher Brown: Candido * Jacques Herlin: Dr. Pangloss * Michelle Miller: Cunegonda * José Quaglio: Inquisitor * Steffen Zacharias: Sage * Gianfranco D'Angelo: Baron * Salvatore Baccaro: Ogre * Alessandro Haber: A lover of Cunegonda * Giancarlo Badessi: Spanish governor * Richard Domphe: Cacambò

Reception

comments ''Mondo Candido'' as "a visionary work without a precise narrative structure - resembling a certain surrealist production by Alejandro Jodorowski - the film is difficult to categorise in a defined genre, nor does it aspire to be".

References

External links

*
''Mondo candido''
at Filmaffinity
Mondo candido
at Mymovies.it {{Candide 1975 films 1975 black comedy films Italian comedy films 1970s Italian-language films Films directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti Works based on Candide Films based on French novels Films scored by Riz Ortolani 1970s Italian films Films about orphans Italian films set in New York City Films set in Northern Ireland Films about the Arab–Israeli conflict Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Optimism