The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970) on Netflix
Ferrara, 1938: shut out of the city's tennis club, the wealthy Jewish Finzi-Continis open their own court to Micòl, Alberto and their friends. Giorgio, a middle-class Jew, loves Micòl.
- Netflix4.2/5
- IMDb7.2/108,510 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes94%
Trailer
Plot summary
The Finzi-Continis are one of Ferrara's prominent Jewish families, living in a mansion inside a walled park. In 1938, when the city's tennis club shuts out Jews, they let Micòl and Alberto bring their friends onto it. Giorgio, whose father runs a Jewish business, joins them, along with Giampiero, a gentile and a communist. Giorgio has loved Micòl since early adolescence, and she is ambivalent. With war approaching, Giorgio's brother leaves for France to continue his studies, while Giorgio, who is close to finishing his degree, stays behind. A ban keeps Jews out of the university library, so the Finzi-Continis let him use their library.
Cast
- Camillo Cesareias Prof. Ermanno Finzi Contini
- Katina Morisanias Olga Finzi Contini
- Michael Bergeras Studente tedesco
- Raffaele Curias Ernesto, fratello di Giorgio
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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
SPOILER
Novelist Giorgio Bassani first helped draft the screenplay, but disagreements with the director turned into open conflict, partly because the film makes Micòl and Giampiero's relationship explicit; Bassani asked to have his name removed from the credits, and the opening credits instead state the film was freely derived from his novel.- The director seriously considered casting singer Patty Pravo in the lead role, but she had to turn it down because of too many work commitments.
