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      Light in the Piazza

      Released Jan 31, 1962 1h 41m Drama List
      Reviews 79% Audience Score 500+ Ratings Meg Johnson (Olivia de Havilland) is very protective of her daughter, Clara (Yvette Mimieux), a gorgeous young woman who suffers from a mental disability. While on vacation in Italy, Clara meets the dashing Fabrizio Naccarelli (George Hamilton), who is immediately smitten with her and doesn't initially grasp the extent of her developmental handicap. Though Meg is wary of letting Clara fall into a romance with Fabrizio, she realizes that he may be able to give the girl a better life. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Oct 10 Buy Now

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      Critics Reviews

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      Janet Graves Photoplay Delicate handling and the mellow settings of Florence give this unusual story an air of tender romance you'd hardly expect from the subject. Nov 18, 2020 Full Review Isabel Quigly The Spectator I must confess to an almost insuperable pre- judice after seeing the film's trailer and realising that a gay, romantic story with a happy ending had been made out of a situation as ghoulish as this one seemed to be. Nov 5, 2019 Full Review Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine Soap-operatic in theme but elegant in style... Nov 5, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      kevin w Olivia DeHavilland and her 26 year old daughter (Yvette Mimieux) vacation in sunny Florence, Italy for an undetermined length of time, but why? It looks all very idyllic but the mother hovers near her daughter incessantly....it turns out that the daughter is developmentally challenged and the mother has not accepted what looks to be her little girl's fate. And so, a soap opera, yes, but one that looks at living with tragic lowered expectations. While the solution offered is bonkers (and perhaps criminal) at least the presentation is first rate. Barry Sullivan delivers a minor and short-lived respite from some of the angsty sentimental slush. And...Italy, scenic all on its own. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Set in the beautiful, enchanting city of Florence, Italy, a mother tries to cope with her child like grown daughter and the Italian man who falls for her daughter. Olivia de Havilland and Yvette Mimieux are splendid in this film. But George Hamilton is completely wrong as the young Italian man who falls for the simple daughter. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member Great movie. In the end I wondered if Fabrizio had something similarly wrong with him like Cara does. His father tells him not to tell her he is really 23 and his father did all the arranging of the marriage and he acts childish too, even eating the flower in the final scene. In the end, the mother never did tell the Naccarelli's something is wrong with Clara and she made a great decision. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a feel-good movie. A delightful way to spend a couple of hours. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Unusual soaper about mother, de Havilland, trying to marry off her beautiful brain damaged daughter, Yvette Mimieux. There's gorgeous photography and Olivia de Havilland is good, giving an honest performance in what could easily have been a very silly so-bad-it's-good kind of film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Frances H Wonderfully warm human drama from a marvelous book with a luminous performance by Yvette Mimieux, Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/19/12 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Light in the Piazza

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Meg Johnson (Olivia de Havilland) is very protective of her daughter, Clara (Yvette Mimieux), a gorgeous young woman who suffers from a mental disability. While on vacation in Italy, Clara meets the dashing Fabrizio Naccarelli (George Hamilton), who is immediately smitten with her and doesn't initially grasp the extent of her developmental handicap. Though Meg is wary of letting Clara fall into a romance with Fabrizio, she realizes that he may be able to give the girl a better life.
      Director
      Guy Green
      Production Co
      Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jan 31, 1962, Limited
      Release Date (Streaming)
      May 1, 2012
      Runtime
      1h 41m
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