Tigre e la neve, La (2005)

Director:

Roberto Benigni

Writers:

Roberto Benigni (writer)
Vincenzo Cerami (writer)

Release Date:

14 October 2005 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | War

Plot:

A love-struck Italian poet is stuck in Iraq at the onset of an American invasion.

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Iraq War | Hospital | Directed By Star | Iraq

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Roberto Benigni	...	Attilio de Giovanni
Jean Reno	...	Fuad
Nicoletta Braschi	...	Vittoria
Tom Waits	...	Himself / Sè stesso
Emilia Fox	...	Nancy Browning
Gianfranco Varetto	...	Avvocato Scuotilancia
Giuseppe Battiston	...	Ermanno
Lucia Poli	...	Signora Serao
Chiara Pirri	...	Emilia
Anna Pirri	...	Rosa
Andrea Renzi	...	Dottor Guazzelli
Abdelhafid Metalsi	...	Dottore Salman
Amid Farid	...	Al Giumeil
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Israel Aduramo	...	Soldato americano
Mohmed Hedi Bahri	...	Firas scarpe
Franco Barbero
Mohamed Malek Bchatnia	...	Ladro bazar
Steven Beckingham	...	First Sergeant
Ahmed Ben Massoud	...	Vecchio campo minato
David Birkin	...	US Marine
Jorge Luis Borges	...	Himself (archive footage)
Simone Carella
Donato Castellaneta
Alexis Conran	...	Private Roadblock
Francesca Cutolo	...	Carla
Francesco De Vito	...	Valeri
Wahjda Dridi	...	Salwa
Stefania Frangipani	...	Fiorala
Simone Gandolfo	...	Poliziutte aeroporto
Ida Grieco	...	Signora zebra
Derek Hagen	...	Soldato americano
Enrico Iannello	...	Poliziutte aeroporto
Enrico Innocenti Barduzzi	...	Poliziutte aeroporto
Laarbi Kmiri	...	Prisoniere
Jonah Lotan	...	American Soldier
Feriel Madaoui	...	Bambino
Susanna Marcomeni
Noah Lee Margetts	...	Private Roadblock (as Noah Margetts)
Rosa Matteucci	...	Presentatrice
Mark McKerracher	...	American Officer
Franco Mescolini
Daniele Miglio	...	Studente
Abdelkader Mokdad	...	Pedrone Scarpe
Eugenio Montale	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jeffery Gordon Pedersen	...	Soldato americano
Jeff Peterson	...	American Soldier
Javone Prince	...	Soldato americano
Adel Rabah	...	Abbas Scarpe
Martin Sherman	...	Soldato americano
Peter Swander	...	Trembling Soldier
Giuseppe Ungaretti	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mariella Valentini
Marguerite Yourcenar	...	Herself (archive footage)

Also Known As:

The Tiger and the Snow (USA) (literal English title)

Runtime:

114 min | USA:110 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian | Arabic | English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:MG6 | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | Sweden:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Naples, Campania, Italy

Company:

Melampo Cinematografica

Trivia:

Roberto Benigni named his character "Attilio" as a tribute to poet Attilio Bertolucci (1911-2000) father of famous directors Giuseppe and Bernardo Bertolucci.

Quotes:

Attilio de Giovanni: I told myself: "There must be people whose job it is to use the right words, put things in a way... who when their heart beats, can get other people's hearts to beat."
Attilio de Giovanni: That day I decided to become a poet.

Movie Connections:

Features Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)

Soundtrack:

Granada

Benigni seeks to win the heart of the woman of his dreams despite many adversities... war in Iraq, pig-headed camels and lack of interest on the part of his beloved.

A pleasant, perhaps very pleasant, two hours spent watching Benigni do his stuff in Italy and Iraq, though I have yet to decide if I really wanted to see another film about him chasing the woman of his dreams, especially as I can never decide if said actress is limited in her acting ability, or if she finds herself constricted by the rather reductive roles she finds herself interpreting. That said, Reno is excellent as the Iraqi poet in exile in France, firstly as a thought-provoking contrast to Benigni's over-the-top enthusiasm, and secondly because he is the politics that are touted when they describe the film as political. The poet's reaction to his return to his native land after many years in exile is an understated, but strongly felt, message. Of course there is also a message, and many jibes, in the humor of Benigni... about young American soldiers in Iraq, the chaos that still reigns in the country after the fall of the old guard and the naivety with which westerners view both culture and war. Great to see Tom Waits on screen again, though with an uncharacteristically romantic song, and for those who are interested, Waits does play 'the musician' and not a speaking role. The jury's out on how convincing the parent-child relationship was, Benigni seemed to be speaking to two small children, not teenagers. And Fox, though a good actress, played a rather mono-dimensional love interest here. I had the pleasant surprise of coming across them making this film while I was passing through Fiumicino airport earlier in the year- the humor that draws people into the cinema halls is even more vibrant live.