One of the many cool things that the Criterion Channel does is include mini-interviews with folks about films they love, in a series they call Adventures in Moviegoing. As a pretty unrepentant film nut I tend to watch all of them, not only because I love to listen to people talk about movies, but also because it introduces me to even more movies that I've never heard of. I was listening to David Chase (of The Sopranos fame) talk about some of his favorite films and was introduced to Dino Risi's 1962 film Il Sorpasso. It is a beloved Italian film which, somehow, I had missed. It tells the story of two men who meet under odd circumstances, form an unlikely friendship, and embark on a two day road trip. The adventure is marked by humor, friendship, desire, and tragedy. Vittorio Gassman (who I remembered from Bitter Rice) plays the irresistible and irresponsible Bruno Cortona, who dragoons the introverted Roberto Mariani, played by Jean-Louis Trintignant (who had a decades-long career, although I suppose I remember him best from his late career role in Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colours: Red) into the joyous and tragic road trip (at the very end of the film Robert admits to Bruno that he feels like he's lived his entire life in those two days). In a notable supporting role, 1960s "It Girl" Catherine Spaak plays Bruno's daughter Lilli. I laughed out loud when Lilli calls Robert "Young Werther"; there simply aren't enough cinematic jokes based on Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther). There are moments when one realizes how big of a nerd they are, and it's hard to imagine a more obvious example than recognizing and laughing at a The Sorrow of Young Werther reference in a 1962 Italian film. Highly recommended: Il Sorpasso, not hanging around with me. Thanks to David Chase for the film recommendation.
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