''Willy Signori e vengo da lontano'' is a 1989 Italian

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film directed by

Francesco Nuti Francesco Nuti (17 May 1955 – 12 June 2023) was an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter. Biography Born in Prato, Nuti began his professional career as an actor in the late 1970s, when he formed the cabaret group ''Giancattivi'' tog ...

. For his performance

Alessandro Haber Alessandro Haber (born 19 January 1947) is an Italian actor, film director and singer. Haber was born in Bologna in a Jewish family of mixed ancestry (his father was a Romanian Jew and his mother Italian) and spent his childhood in Israel. His m ...

won the

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 ...

for best supporting actor.

Plot

Willy Signori is a journalist in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, bored with his work, involved in a romantic relationship that has no more romance left, only routine, and a paraplegic brother under his care, constantly asking to "move to Africa where the warm climate will help my poor legs". One night, Willy is involved in a car crash, accidentally killing the other car's driver. The following day Lucia, the victim's girlfriends, angrily confronts Willy in his office, accusing him of being a murderer. Willy keeps his cool and tries to financially and morally support Lucia to recover from her shock, as he feels guilty because she is pregnant from the dead boyfriend. Willy tries to support her behind his fiancée's back, and in due time between the two there are sparks of love. After a quarrel, and after breaking up from his relationship, Willy leaves for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

with his brother for holiday, and there, we see Lucia giving birth in an African clinic, to a baby who most likely will know Willy as his father.

Cast

as Willy Signori *

Isabella Ferrari Isabella Fogliazza (born 31 March 1964), better known by her stage name of Isabella Ferrari, is an Italian television, stage and film actress. She is best known for her role as Commissioner Giovanna Scalise, the main character in the police dram ...

as Lucia Ventura *

Anna Galiena Anna Galiena (born 22 December 1949) is an Italian actress, best known to English-speaking audiences for her appearances in '' Le Mari de la coiffeuse'', ''Jamón jamón'', '' Being Human'' and '' Senso '45''. Career She was born in a family t ...

as Alessandra *

as Ugo Signori *

Novello Novelli Novello Novelli (2 March 1930 – 10 January 2018) was an Italian character actor. Life and career Born in Poggibonsi, province of Siena, as Novellantonio Novelli, a former footballer and surveyor, Novelli initially was the manager of the cabar ...

as the corpse *

Antonio Petrocelli Antonio Petrocelli (born 18 September 1953) is an Italian actor. Partial filmography Film * '' The Pool Hustlers'' (1982) * '' The Eyes, the Mouth'' (1982) * '' Secrets Secrets'' (1985) * ''Il tenente dei carabinieri'' (1986) * ''The Strangene ...

as the gynaecologist *

Cristina Gaioni Cristina Gaioni (born Maria Cristina Gaioni; 4 November 1940) is an Italian actress, sometimes credited as Cristina Gajoni and Cristina Gaioni Visentin. Born in Milan, Italy, Gaioni studied acting at the drama school of Piccolo Teatro under Gio ...

as Ilona * Fabrizio Galasso as traffic warden *

Giovanni Veronesi Giovanni Veronesi (born 1962) is an Italian film screenwriter, actor and director. Born in Prato, he is the brother of the writer Sandro Veronesi (writer), Sandro Veronesi. He started his career writing scripts for directors such as Francesco N ...

as the window cleaner *

Don Powell Donald George Powell (born 10 September 1946) is an English musician who was the drummer for glam rock and later hard rock group Slade for over fifty years, from 1966 until he was dismissed by Dave Hill in 2020. Early life Powell was born in Bil ...

as an African doctor

Reception

It was one of the highest-grossing Italian films of the year.

References

External links

* 1989 films Italian romantic comedy films Films directed by Francesco Nuti 1989 romantic comedy films Films about journalists Films set in Milan 1980s Italian films {{1980s-romantic-comedy-film-stub