Seeking Asylum

Starring:Roberto Benigni, Francesca De Sapio, Dominique Laffin, Luca Levi, Girolamo Marzano, Carlo Monni, Chiara Moretti, Roberto Amaro
Director: Marco Ferreri
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

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Young Roberto Benigni plays a nonconformist kindergarten teacher who brings his brand of creative chaos to the classroom in Marco Ferreri's comic drama. This is a much calmer Benigni than the hyperactive rubber-face we're used to, but though he manages to play the entire film reigned in at second gear, he takes just as many wild turns. In one scene he tries to convince his young charges that he's pregnant. In another he drops them off at the gate of the factory where their parents work and skedaddles out of sight to watch the fun. The title refers to a young runaway Roberto "adopts," but it could just as easily apply to Roberto himself, who seems to seek refuge from the real world in his little child-like paradise--in one scene he guiltlessly extricates himself from any responsibility when he gets his girlfriend pregnant. At times it comes off like an episodic sketch comedy as directed by John Cassavetes: comic scenes drag out into uneasy character dramas and uncomfortable confrontations, only to jump into the next lighthearted segment. Benigni cuts a cheerfully sincere (if indulgently irresponsible) figure in this pre-hysterical period of his career and pulls together this offbeat character drama with good humor and plenty of heart. Fans of the bouncing-off-the-walls Begnini may be better served with the slapstick Johnny Stecchino or his two collaborations with American director Jim Jarmusch: Down by Law and Night on Earth. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Starring Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful, Down By Law), this is the rare Marco Ferreri "family film," where a fun-loving and highly unorthodox school teacher brings some magic into the lives of the young children when he takes a job at an unusually strict preschool. A visually stirring and emotionally riveting treat.

Customer Reviews:

Needs Warning Label that reads: Just Plain Terrible!.......2006-01-15

It is ironic that Roberto Begnini was in the two of the funniest and excellent movies I have ever seen, "The Monster" and "Johnny Stecchino." And to think he was in one of our favorites, "Life is Beautiful".

For that reason, I doubted this movie was of any quality, one, because it was pre-Begnini days of the comic genius and two, I rarely ever heard of it! I hesitated on this movie and I was right.

This ill-conceived plot trods along, is poor on subtitles and sound, not funny as it may have intended to be, and to top that, it is just plain boring!

He is a teacher who does things differently, has a romance, some interaction with kindergartners, and I can't say anything else. I didn't get it and I whizzed through it.

Skip this one. I can't imagine Begnini thrilled that this poorly made movie is out, especially since we know him as the famous, talented and hysterically funny, Begnini. ...MzRizz

More than meets the eye.......2005-03-17

Yes, this film is totally atypical of Benigni's work and it will bore you or disappoint you if you are looking for a simple, light-hearted comedy about kids replete with Benigni's standard repertoire of gags. Really this movie is social commentary underneath a simple storyline with some comedic moments.
An idealistic, albeit goofy, young man decides to turn his hand to running a nursery school program in an industrialized part of a major city where all of the children's parents are employed by the local factory. So if you think about the socialist and marxist ideals of many young Italians (before the Craxi debacle) who grew up while Italy was transforming into the economic, yet troubled, nation it is today; you can see how this movie was very timely for the 1970s. It's got so many different messages within it (communism, educational reform, mental health care for children or lack there of, the fading ideal of the nuclear family, Bologna, the Red Brigades, children's rights, the lack of support for families and the encroaching and overwhelming demands of life in a totally capitalist society and on and on... not to mention Benigni's character's existential dilemmas) that you could really watch this film many, many times. This movie is not at all Hollywood and neither is it Cinecitta (and honestly,in the year 2007 - sadly, what's the difference?) that it's great. Yes, at times you feel like your watching a student film, but I kind of liked the less-than-perfect visual and audio quality; it made the film feel more authentic.
If you don't know or care about Italy, Italians, history, and children, you won't like this film. If you want some light-hearted Benigni vehicle like Il Postino or Johnny Stecchino, you will detest this movie.
If you are interested in 1970s Italy and, in my opinion, the time when Italy made a wrong turn (with much prodding and manipulating by the US), you will enjoy it. It's a glimpse into history and I found it very, very refreshing. Oh, it helps if you speak and/or read Italian well, the subtitles don't do the film justice.

Benigni, e la sua bomba.......2000-01-11

This movie was horrible. If you are expecting to see the same Roberto that we all love in Life is Beautiful, The Monster, and Johnny Stechino this movie is not for you. Seeking Asylum was very slow moving with very little humor what so ever. In fact, this movie is so bad that it will turn you off on Benigni. So if you are a Benigni fan skip this one for your own good.

Difficult to watch.......2000-01-08

Being a Benigni fan, I purchased this video on faith. The film and sound quality are poor and the plot difficult/impossible to follow. With three of us watching, we had to stop the tape to discuss what was going on; not because we were enthralled, but because we were lost.

Decent.......1999-06-07

For all of you die-hard Benigni fans out there, this is a must have. However, don't expect to see the same sort of acting style that has made Roberto famous. This is an offbeat film where Roberto plays a cooky kindergarden teacher. Benigni's character experiments with his teaching by amusing the children in crazy ways, like bringing in a donkey as their class mascot. Nonetheless, Benigni plays it straight whithout the witty humor we have grown to love Benigni for. It is a lovely tale with various side plots. I wouldn't reccomend this film to somebody who is just getting to know Benigni, because it will turn him off. But if you are already a fan, this may interest you. Just be aware that the visual and audio quality of this low-budget 1979 film is poor.

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