The Way We Laughed

Released Feb 8, 2002

2h 6m

Drama

List

86%

Tomatometer

21 Reviews

69%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

Studying to become a teacher in Turin, Italy, Pietro (Francesco Giuffrida) is joined by his older brother, Giovanni (Enrico Lo Verso), who has moved up from Sicily. While Giovanni is a worker with no schooling, Pietro shows considerable promise in academics, prompting the elder sibling to seek employment to support his brother's academic pursuits. Unfortunately, things don't go well for Giovanni and Pietro, and they face significant hardships as they try to improve their lives.

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Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

To watch Gianni Amelio's luminous The Way We Laughed is to reconnect with Italian cinema in all its richness of emotion and command of expressive gesture.

Rated: 5/5

Aug 15, 2002

Full Review

Damon Smith

Boston Globe

A haunting, richly textured film that, like the Italian director's unforgettable Lamerica, dramatizes the plight of poverty on an epic scale.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 14, 2002

Full Review

Michael Wilmington

Chicago Tribune

... a masterpiece about filial love and the horrors of poverty.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 21, 2002

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 3/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jun 13, 2005

Full Review

Saul Austerlitz

Film Threat

It's a damn impressive trick to build a film around narrative frustration and not cause your audience to run out screaming.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 8, 2002

Full Review

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Audience Member

my review: http://wp.me/p1eXom-21Z

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Le vicende si svolgono nell'arco di sette anni (dal 1958 al 1964) in una Torino caratterizzata dalla discriminazione nei confronti dei meridionali, anni durante i quali Giovanni (Enrico Lo Verso), operaio analfabeta nonché emigrato siciliano, dopo aver raggiunto il fratello minore Pietro (Francesco Giuffrida) a Torino, cerca in tutti i modi di avviare quest'ultimo allo studio, affinché possa ottenere il diploma di maestro. L'amore ossessivo nei confronti del fratello più piccolo verrà successivamente ricambiato, tanto da spingere Pietro a prendersi la colpa di un delitto in realtà commesso da Giovanni [it.wikipedia.org]

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I'm trying to write a presentation about this film and not getting very far so I'm biased against it in that respect but overlooking that, this is an engaging drama that takes place over 6 years, only showing us one day from each, so it's up to us to fill in the blanks and decide what has happened in between. This could have been a series of 6 films, each one dedicated to each chapter in the film, but instead Gianni Amelio skillfully weaves each chapter together and in no way condescends to or overestimates the audience

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not my favourite Amelio film. It treads similar ground to the far superior Rocco and his Brothers, and although Lo Verso is always watchable he is not at his best. Slightly dull.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Esta claro que deberia haber nacido en Italia ;-)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A visually meticulous film, possibly the best of an original director. All about is the complexity and mystery of humanity.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

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Gianni Amelio

Director

Enrico Lo Verso

Giovanni

Francesco Giuffrida

Pietro

Fabrizio Gifuni

Pelaia

Rosaria Danze

Lucia

Claudio Contartese

Rosario

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Synopsis

Studying to become a teacher in Turin, Italy, Pietro (Francesco Giuffrida) is joined by his older brother, Giovanni (Enrico Lo Verso), who has moved up from Sicily. While Giovanni is a worker with no schooling, Pietro shows considerable promise in academics, prompting the elder sibling to seek employment to support his brother's academic pursuits. Unfortunately, things don't go well for Giovanni and Pietro, and they face significant hardships as they try to improve their lives.

Director: Gianni Amelio
Producer: Mario Cotone
Screenwriter: Gianni Amelio
Distributor: New Yorker Films
Production Co: Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinema
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 8, 2002, Wide
Box Office (Gross USA): $55.6K
Runtime: 2h 6m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby SR, Dolby A