Café Express (film)
Encyclopedia
Café Express is a 1980 comedy film
directed by Nanni Loy
and starring Nino Manfredi
.
Michele Abbagnano (Nino Manfredi
) ekes out a living by abusively selling coffee, hot milk and cappuccino
on the night trains running between Naples
and Vallo della Lucania
; each night, his goods held in a set of vacuum flasks which he carries in a basket along with handfuls of sugar packets he steals from railway cafés, he moves from carriage to carriage peddling warm drinks to the dazed, sleepy passengers.
The need to maintain his young son (who suffers from a congenital heart deficiency) in an institution and the hope to amass a large enough sum to have him undergo the surgical operation which would make him healthy for good is more than enough to keep Michele in his awkward and exhausting line of business, to which, however, he's exceptionally suited.
Keen of eye and wit he manages to befriend most of the passengers on the night trains, helping them with small favours (like waking them up before the stations they need to descend at) and telling tall tales centered around his right arm, which he keeps wrapped in a long leather glove pretending it to be wooden.
Michele tailors the stories to the people he's telling them to...pretending of having been a successful pianist who had his career ruined to a young cross-eyed man pining about having been rejected from the Carabinieri
, telling how he saved orphanage boys from a roaring fire to the nun
leading some schoolboys, narrating how he lost the limb to freezing on the Eastern Front to the WW2 veteran and so on.
During one night of 'work' Michele will be chased across the train by a trio of conductors who have been ordered by the Ministry of Transports to put an end to his activities once and for all; he'll meet his son (who has escaped from the institution) and will cross paths with a trio of petty thieves decided to enroll him as an accomplice in their misdeeds.
Nanny Loy directs a masterful movie, which is one of the last examples of Commedia all'Italiana
, the director leads the public to laugh at Michele's wits and ingenuity and at the same time to ponder at the sorrowful existence he shares with the other working class people aboard the shaky, clattering, ill-lit night train.
Nino Manfredi won a Nastro d'Argento
as best male protagonist with this movie.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Nanni Loy
Nanni Loy
Nanni Loy was an Italian film, theatre and TV director.Loy was born in Cagliari, Sardinia...
and starring Nino Manfredi
Nino Manfredi
Nino Manfredi was an Italian actor, one of the most prominent in the commedia all'italiana genre....
.
Michele Abbagnano (Nino Manfredi
Nino Manfredi
Nino Manfredi was an Italian actor, one of the most prominent in the commedia all'italiana genre....
) ekes out a living by abusively selling coffee, hot milk and cappuccino
Cappuccino
A cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed-milk foam. The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the colour of their habits.- Definition :...
on the night trains running between Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and Vallo della Lucania
Vallo della Lucania
Vallo della Lucania is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy...
; each night, his goods held in a set of vacuum flasks which he carries in a basket along with handfuls of sugar packets he steals from railway cafés, he moves from carriage to carriage peddling warm drinks to the dazed, sleepy passengers.
The need to maintain his young son (who suffers from a congenital heart deficiency) in an institution and the hope to amass a large enough sum to have him undergo the surgical operation which would make him healthy for good is more than enough to keep Michele in his awkward and exhausting line of business, to which, however, he's exceptionally suited.
Keen of eye and wit he manages to befriend most of the passengers on the night trains, helping them with small favours (like waking them up before the stations they need to descend at) and telling tall tales centered around his right arm, which he keeps wrapped in a long leather glove pretending it to be wooden.
Michele tailors the stories to the people he's telling them to...pretending of having been a successful pianist who had his career ruined to a young cross-eyed man pining about having been rejected from the Carabinieri
Carabinieri
The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations, and is a branch of the armed forces.-Early history:...
, telling how he saved orphanage boys from a roaring fire to the nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
leading some schoolboys, narrating how he lost the limb to freezing on the Eastern Front to the WW2 veteran and so on.
During one night of 'work' Michele will be chased across the train by a trio of conductors who have been ordered by the Ministry of Transports to put an end to his activities once and for all; he'll meet his son (who has escaped from the institution) and will cross paths with a trio of petty thieves decided to enroll him as an accomplice in their misdeeds.
Nanny Loy directs a masterful movie, which is one of the last examples of Commedia all'Italiana
Commedia all'italiana
Commedia all'italiana or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre. It is widely considered to have started with Mario Monicelli's I soliti ignoti in 1958 and derives its name from the title of Pietro Germi's Divorzio all'italiana .-Stars:Vittorio Gassman, Ugo...
, the director leads the public to laugh at Michele's wits and ingenuity and at the same time to ponder at the sorrowful existence he shares with the other working class people aboard the shaky, clattering, ill-lit night train.
Nino Manfredi won a Nastro d'Argento
Nastro d'Argento
The Nastro d'Argento is a movie award assigned each year, since 1946, for cinematic performances and production by Sindacato Nazionale dei Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani, the association of Italian film critics...
as best male protagonist with this movie.
Cast
- Nino ManfrediNino ManfrediNino Manfredi was an Italian actor, one of the most prominent in the commedia all'italiana genre....
- Michele Abbagnano - Adolfo CeliAdolfo CeliAdolfo Celi was an Italian film actor and director.-Life and career:Born in Messina, Sicily, Celi appeared in nearly 100 movies, specializing in international villains. His most famous role was as Emilio Largo in the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball...
- Ministry of Transportation chief inspector - Vittorio CaprioliVittorio CaprioliVittorio Caprioli was an Italian film actor, director and screenwriter. He appeared in 109 films between 1946 and 1990...
- Improta, petty thief - Vittorio MezzogiornoVittorio MezzogiornoVittorio Mezzogiorno was an Italian actor.-Biography:Mezzogiorno was born in Cercola, the youngest of seven children. His older brother Vincenzo, who wanted to become a director, introduced him to the theatre....
- Amitrano, Improta's thug - Marzio Honorato - Ferdinando, Improta's accomplice
- Gigi Reder - Antonio Cammarota, the stretcher-bearer
- Luigi Basagaluppi - Vigorito, chief conductor
- Marisa Laurito - Liberata, the cheating woman
- Vittorio Marsiglia - Picone, the neapolitan businessman
- Maurizio Micheli - The milanese businessman
- Clara ColosimoClara ColosimoClara Colosimo was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 65 films between 1968 and 1991.-Selected filmography:* Alfredo, Alfredo * Sex Pot * Il mostro * Orchestra Rehearsal...
- Valmarana, a businesswoman - Silvio Spaccesi - Sanguigno, second conductor
- Giovanni Piscopo - Michele's son, nicknamed Cazzillo
- Gerardo Scala - Scognamiglio, third conductor
- Leo Gullotta - Imbastaro, the cross-eyed man