BREAD AND TULIPS

English Title: BREAD AND TULIPS

“How Rosalba Got Her Groove Back” could be the subtitle of this sly and engaging comedy. Middle-aged housewife Rosalba Barletta has long been taken for granted by her jaded sons and cheating husband, a merchant in bathroom fixtures. During a day trip to famous Roman ruins, Rosalba is accidentally left behind by the departing tour bus. Instead of waiting to be collected by her furious spouse, Rosalba decides to hitch a ride home, but a brush with Grazie, a free-spirited “holistic beautician,” permits a glimpse of another existence outside of her stifling cooking-and-cleaning routine. Instead, Rosalba makes for Venice, city of her dreams, for a “vacation.” She finds accomodations – and romance – in the lodgings of a dour Icelandic waiter. She lands a job in a florist's shop run by an old anarchist who selects blooms based on political considerations. She enjoys massages from Grazie, her new neighbor. meanwhile a desperate Mr. Barletta, finding himself no good at the ironing board, hires a mother-dominated plumber as an amateur detective to retrieve the runaway wife who chose the Path Not Taken when unintentionally dumped at life's crossroads. (In Italian with English subtitles)