A movie night with the iconic Marcello Mastroianni

divorce Italian style

JANUARY 8, 2026  – Let’s start the year with an iconic Italian movie: Divoce Italian Style (1961) by director Pietro Germi.
Baron Ferdinando Cefalù (Marcello Mastroianni) longs to marry his nubile young cousin Angela (Stefania Sandrelli), but one obstacle stands in his way: his fatuous and fawning wife, Rosalia (Daniela Rocca).  He’s been married to Rosalia for 15 years, and the little things that once charmed him now grate—her laugh, her constant need for reassurance. The 16-year-old Angela, lives across the courtyard. Divorce is illegal in Italy, and infidelity is scandalous in conservative Sicily, so Fefè has to get creative.
Marcello Mastroianni’s Fefè is vain, cowardly, and selfish, yet Pietro Germi shows us his perspective in a way that highlights his flaws while keeping us engaged. From fantasizing about drowning Rosalia in the laundry to peeking at Angela from his bathroom window, Fefè is both repulsive and oddly human.
The film cleverly uses a real-life trial to inspire Fefè’s scheme, giving insight into his self-justifications and the hypocrisy of the society around him. Almost nothing escapes critique—the mafia, the church, the media, even local gossip—all reinforcing how honor and machismo often rest on double standards.
Dr. Giovanna De Luca, professor of Italian and film studies at the College of Charleston, will introduce the movie.

Over 60 years later, Divorce Italian Style still resonates, balancing sharp satire with genuinely funny, cringe-worthy moments.

For registration please click HERE.

Date: Thursday, January 8, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00PM
Location: Queen Street Playhouse, 20 Queen Street, Downtown Charleston, SC 29401

 

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