The Garden of the Finzi Continis (film)

The Garden of the FinziContinis Italian Il giardino dei FinziContini is a 1970 Italian film, directed by Vittorio de Sica. It stars Lino Capolicchio, Dominique Sanda and Helmut Berger. The film is based upon Giorgio Bassanis novel of the same name.

Among the visitors there is a man vying for the beautiful, tall and blonde, Micol FinziContini. Giorgio, her middle class Jewish childhood friend, feels entitled to her heart. A series of flashbacks show how Giorgio used to wait outside the walls of the estate, hoping for a glimpse of Micol. As teenagers they became fast friends. Now as adults, they enjoy their mutual company and Micol gives Giorgio special attention. Escaping a sudden downpour in a gazebo, Giorgio tries to touch her, but she rejects him. Alberto, whose health is fragile, enjoys a close friendship with Bruno Malnate, a darkly handsome gentile with socialist sympathies. Giorgios father considers the FinziContini so different that they dont even seem to be Jewish. Wealth, privilege and generations of intellectual and social position have bred them into a family as proud as it is vulnerable. The other Jews in the town react to Mussolinis edicts in various ways Giorgio is enraged his father is philosophical. But the FinziContinis hardly seem to know, or care, what is happening.Giorgio, who is about to graduate, becomes a frequent visitor to the FinziContinis villa where he is allowed to use their extensive library. He is in love with Micol, and she seems to return his feeling, but she unexpectedly leaves to stay in Venice with her uncles. On her return Micol changes, coldly rejecting any show of affection from Giorgio. Instead she carries on affair with Bruno Malnate, a man she claims to despise as too vulgar, crude, and leftist for her tastes. Peeking through a window Giorgio discovers Bruno and Micol naked together. Heartbroken Giorgio is comforted by his father. ........

Source: Wikipedia