Divorce Italian Style is a witty satirical comedy that highlights some very interesting themes about Italian society and culture. The film essentially uses comedy as a tool to expose the shortcomings of the legal and social framework in Italy during this time. Although Ferdinando never directly protests the divorce law, his convoluted plan to set his wife up with someone then kill her and get a minimal jail sentence demonstrates the rather backwards and hypocritical system that was enforced from both above and below.
I was curious to know more about censorship and its role in shaping the film during the time it was made. Specifically, would it have been acceptable to openly criticize an outdated law or did writers and directors have to utilize satire and comedy to communicate their criticisms? I think this relates to our modern concept of political correctness and how some people argue that it can interfere with free speech.
Further, I thought it was interesting the way death was utilized a source of humor in the film. I was surprised at how directly and candidly death, an often taboo matter, was portrayed in the film for example in the recurring fantasized deaths that Ferdinando has about Rosalie dying. I think this implies something cynical about Italian society but also inherently neorealist as death represents the ultimate universal fate.
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