Il Boom

Most associated with the neorealist movement and films such as Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Umberto D. (1952), Vittorio De Sica also had a great gift for comedy, both behind and in front of the camera. A great, if relatively unknown, example of the commedia all’italiana, the satirical Il Boom stars Alberto Sordi as an executive struggling to support his wife’s extravagant standard of living. Drowning in expenses, he faces an impossible decision when the wife of a wealthy businessman offers to wipe out his debts with an “eye-popping” proposition. (85 mins., DCP)