Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963)
A perfect companion piece to Marriage Italian Style, but sets the tone from the start as closer to a farce. The three short films all basically display the same power dynamic between Loren’s and Mastroianni’s characters, with Loren having to navigate in a male dominated world utilizing the power she has. Like staying out of jail by just keep getting pregnant. Flawless plan, up to a point. Mastroianni plays a bit of a pathetic goof, but since he understandably wants to keep sleeping with Loren he follows along. The two other segment is a play on similar dynamics, though from different social classes, with Loren always shown as having the upper hand - though she sort of doesn’t as it is the male dominated society that puts here there. The engine for all this is Loren’s sexual authority combined with Mastroianni’s comic inadequacy. All leading to the finale of the striptease - with emphasis on tease, clearly showing the films self-awareness as it is mocking the audience.
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Rating: 4