Paul P. Powell — 6 months ago(September 16, 2025 03:14 AM)

Random thoughts on
'Il Sorpasso'
I'm no stranger to Italian cinema but for many years I've never had a personal favorite Italian movie. There are plenty of Italian movies I respect; but without any particular pleasure.
Most of the Italian pics I've ever admired, are sad ones. '
Umberto D.'
, or '
General Della Rovera'
, or '
Bicycle Thieves
'. Even '
La Dolce Vita
' is rather sad.
'Il Sorpasso
' is now my favorite Italian movie.
It lies at the other end of the spectrum from all those weepy Italian dramas cited above.
This is a legendary film in Italian cinema –probably for this very same reason. It's fun.
Immense fun. Picaresque; adventurous; free-wheeling. a romp. A hoot.
So much so that I'm surprised it hasn't been out-and-out remade (even if badly) for American audiences. Perhaps it can never be openly re-created.
It's arguably the best 'buddy' film of all time. Must certainly be the quintessential 'road' movie of all time.
This is no mean feat –two feats –to accomplish in one fell swoop.
Certainly many buddy-movies (and many road-movies too) must all owe their capering spirit to this progenitor.
What made me procrastinate so long before seeking it out? After all, it's recommended by all the critics.
I was probably deterred for so long, because the movie-poster-art is terrible.
The official authorized artwork. Just garish and misleading. It makes the driver at the wheel of his sports car resemble a lunatic, a madman, mentally unbalanced; demented.
That is not the case –as you will discover, once the story unrolls.
The driver at the wheel of the tale –the central figure of the yarn– is perfectly harmless.
There's no malice in him. He's nothing more than a jerk; a lout. A jackass.
But as one female in the movie comments: "
he's crazy, but nice".
You can't tell this from the poster-art.
The lead character she is speaking of is one of the most vivid characterizations in all cinema history. It is "Bruno", played by Italian movie director, playwright, & stage star Vittorio Gassman.
This man leaps and bounds off the screen. Most of us know someone like Bruno. If you've never met a Bruno before he will be your new best friend; fictional or not.
Curiously –in real life, Gassman himself was said to be just as much a wild-man as the character he plays here.
Gassman does the impossible. He makes a sleazy, shady, dingbat, 40-something businessman one of the most lovable figures you'll ever meet.
Bruno makes Butch Cassidy seem taciturn and reserved.
It's one of the drollest performances I've ever seen. Ya wind up loving this maniac.
My advice: do not read too much about it before viewing. Don't read up on key plot-points. Don't spoil it for yourself in any way. Just dive into it headfirst, and enjoy.
Paul P. Powell, Pool Player