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6.2 0h 52m

The Garden That Doesn't Exist

Once upon a time there was a garden, a refuge, a safe haven - 'The Garden of the Finzi Continis'. It came to life in Giorgio Bassani's 1962 semi-autobiographical novel recounting an unfulfilled love story between two young Jews in Ferrara, while fascism was raging in Italy in the late 1930's. In 1972, Vittorio De Sica's film adaptation of the book won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Since then, the fictional space of the garden became so tangible that people from all over the world come to Ferrara to look for it. Fifty years after winning the Oscar, reality and fiction come together once more, as we walk through an imaginary garden and bring to life the book, its author, its main protagonists, history, love, friendships and betrayals.

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Top Cast

  • Dominique Sanda

    Dominique Sanda

    Self

  • Giorgio Bassani

    Giorgio Bassani

    Self (archive footage)

  • Vittorio De Sica

    Vittorio De Sica

    Self (archive footage)

  • Alessandro D'Alatri

    Alessandro D'Alatri

    Self

  • Lino Capolicchio

    Lino Capolicchio

    Self

  • Helmut Berger

    Helmut Berger

    Self (archive footage)

  • Fabio Testi

    Fabio Testi

    Self (archive footage)

  • Manuel De Sica

    Manuel De Sica

    Self (archive footage)

Overview

Once upon a time there was a garden, a refuge, a safe haven - 'The Garden of the Finzi Continis'. It came to life in Giorgio Bassani's 1962 semi-autobiographical novel recounting an unfulfilled love story between two young Jews in Ferrara, while fascism was raging in Italy in the late 1930's. In 1972, Vittorio De Sica's film adaptation of the book won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Since then, the fictional space of the garden became so tangible that people from all over the world come to Ferrara to look for it. Fifty years after winning the Oscar, reality and fiction come together once more, as we walk through an imaginary garden and bring to life the book, its author, its main protagonists, history, love, friendships and betrayals.

Rating

6.2 / 10
3 Reviews
0 Popular

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