Pane e cioccolata Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Pane e cioccolata Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 17, 2016

Winner of David di Donatello Awards for Best Film and Best Actor, Franco Brusati's "Bread and Chocolate" a.k.a. "Pane e Cioccolata" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors Lucky Red. The supplemental features on the disc include the documentary film "Una Macchina con due Motori"; filmed conversation between director Paolo Virzi and actor Andrea Occhipinti; and new featurette about the film's recent restoration. In Italian, with optional English, French, and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The immigrant

What makes this film special is that the story it tells has not aged at all. There are people like Nino Manfredi’s character all over Europe, facing exactly the same dilemmas and doing many of the same things he does in the film in order to survive. The only difference now is that the majority of them come from the former Soviet republics and the poorest countries in the Balkans.

Nino (Manfredi) is an Italian immigrant in Switzerland who can’t get a break. He has found a temporary job in a fancy restaurant but has a terrible time doing what he is supposed to do exactly as his supervisor wants him to do it. This makes him very nervous because when his trial period is over the owner of the restaurant will have to choose between him and the Turk (Gianfranco Barra, The Seduction of Mimi), another immigrant who desperately needs the job.

While relaxing in a beautiful park, Nino accidentally discovers the cold body of a young girl and immediately proceeds to alert the authorities. But before he does it he empties his bladder right next to a young couple with a camera. A few days later, after he is questioned by the police, a compromising photograph is sent to the owner of the restaurant and he loses his job and his work permit.

Nino’s beautiful neighbor, Elena (Anna Karina, Vivre Sa Vie, Band of Outsiders), who is a Greek immigrant and has a son without papers, allows him to spend a few days in her apartment until he decides what to do. Shortly after, Nino agrees to work in the home of a shady Italian businessman who does not need him to have a work permit, but before he can start the job his compatriot commits suicide and he once again finds himself on the streets. Nino’s next job is on a small farm where the illiterate members of a large Italian family kill chickens for pennies and live in a coop. This time Nino quits on his own after he concludes that the only way he will be treated with respect is if he replaces his problematic Italian identity with a proper Swiss identity -- which he does after he dyes his hair blond in a public toilet somewhere in the heart of the city.

Franco Brusati’s film can be incredibly funny at times but the various contrasts it highlights while Nino struggles to fit in are not. Indeed, until Nino changes the color of his hair and begins acting like a Swiss gentleman he is routinely treated as an object, not a human being. He exists and the locals notice him, but as soon as they hear him speak with an accent he becomes an object that is best to ignore.

Interestingly, the film is also quite critical of the Italians. Some are depicted as thieves and troublemakers who are directly responsible for the tension that exists between the locals and the foreigners. (The Italian immigrants are not the only immigrants that have flooded the city). So there is frustration on both sides and plenty of good reasons that justify its existence.

Manfredi is the heart and soul of the film. Sometimes he has a brilliant facial expression that effectively sums up the absurdity of a situation; sometimes he has a terrific monologue that touches the heart in a special way. Indeed, a truly remarkable performance from one of Italy’s greatest actors.

The film has a delicate period look that favors a wide variety of warm colors. It was lensed by award-winning cinematographer Luciano Tovoli (Dario Argento’s Suspiria, Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger).

Pane e cioccolata Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Franco Brusati's Bread and Chocolate arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors Lucky Red.

The new restoration of Bread and Chocolate was carried out at Cineteca di Bologna, with the participation of CSC - Cineteca Nazionale and Lucky Red and the cooperation of the Manfredi family. A first generation reversal negative was scanned in 4K and the restoration work was done in 2K. The color grading was supervised by the film's director of photography, Luciano Tovoli. The restoration was completed at Laboratorio L'Immagine Ritrovata in 2013.

Different segments of the film are lit differently and as a result there are some tiny density fluctuations. There are also some small density fluctuations that are inherited from the element that was used for the restoration. The film's overall appearance, however, is well balanced. Colors are stable and natural, never appearing artificially boosted. Some minor fluctuations exist in areas where light is captured in a specific way by the camera. There is a very good range of nuances, though a few can be a bit too warm. Regardless, overall the color scheme is convincing. There are no traces of compromising degraining corrections, but in the areas where density fluctuates the grain exposure can be somewhat uneven. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Overall image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no large damage marks, cuts, debris, or torn frames to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Pane e cioccolata Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English, French, and Italian SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Depth and clarity are excellent. There is a good range of nuanced dynamics as well, though it should be said that Daniele Patucchi's score has primarily a supporting role. The dialog remains stable throughout the entire film. Also, there are no audio dropouts, balance issues, or digital distortions to report in our review. The English translation is excellent, but I noticed a few sequences where a couple of quick lines are not translated.

Pane e cioccolata Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Restoration/Il Restauro - in this featurette, producer and distributor Andrea Occhipinti explains how he inherited the theatrical and film rights to Franco Brusati's Bread and Chocolate and how he decided to restore the film. (Bread and Chocolate never received a home video release in Italy, though it was released on VHS/DVD in France, where it was very well received, and in the United States). Also included are clips from interviews with director of photography Luciano Tovoli and Gian Luca Farinelli (Director of Cineteca di Bologna). In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (8 min).

• Conversazione tra Paolo Virzi e Andrea Occhipinti - in this video conversation, director Paolo Virzi (Human Capital, The First Beautiful Thing) recalls his initial encounter with Franco Brusati and discusses some of the unique qualities of his films, immigration as a misrepresented theme in Italian cinema, and Bread and Chocolate and Nino Manfredi's excellent performance. The conversation is conducted by actor Andrea Occhipinti (The Sea Inside, Miranda). The conversation was filmed in Rome on June 5, 2014. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (19 min).

• Una Macchina con due Motori - this excellent new documentary film focuses on the life and legacy of Franco Brusati and the history and success of Bread and Chocolate. Included in it are clips from brand new interviews with script supervisor Laura Curreli, costume designer Guido Schlinkert, scenarist Jaja Fiastri, director of photography Luciano Tovoli, Erminia Ferrari (wife of the late Nino Manfredi), actor Gianfranco Barra (the Turk), and actor Giacomo Rizzo (Michele), amongst others. In Italian, with optional English subtitles. (66 min).

• Booklet - 10-page illustrated booklet with writing on the film and technical credits. In Italian.

Pane e cioccolata Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is sad that so many of the contrasts that are highlighted in Franco Brusati's film Bread and Chocolate are not a thing of the past, but it is hardly surprising. That's why the old proverb, "The more things change, the more they stay the same", exists. A true classic of Italian cinema, Bread and Chocolate has been recently restored in 4K by Cineteca di Bologna and is available on Blu-ray via local distributors Lucky Red. The release also comes with some terrific supplemental features which are subtitled in English. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.