The Icicle Thief

The Icicle Thief Italian Ladri di saponette is a 1989 Italian comedy film directed by Maurizio Nichetti, titled in imitation of Vittorio De Sicas classic Italian neorealist film The Bicycle Thief Italian Ladri di biciclette. Some feel The Icicle Thief was created as a spoof of neorealism, which predominated Italian cinema after World War II. However, it is generally understood to go beyond this and to take a stand against commercialism as destructive towards art. The film won the Golden St. George at the 16th Moscow International Film Festival.

Finally, a power failure in the studio results in colour characters from the adverts appearing in the blackandwhite filmwithinafilm after the commercial breaks, and interacting with its protagonists, thus completely changing its plot and concept. The director himself is drawn into his own movie via the TV studios television set, and begins arguing with the characters.The films Italian title Ladri di saponette, a play on the Italian title of De Sicas film, means Soap Thieves it is justified by dialogue where a boy is told not to use up all the soap when washing his hands, and his mother wonders if he is eating it. For Englishspeaking audiences, the title was changed to The Icicle Thief, playing on the English title of De Sicas film. This title was justified by changing the wording of the English subtitles when the characters talk about some chandeliers and one is stolen. In the original Italian dialogue they are said to sparkle like pearls prle and drops of water gocce, but in the English subtitles, they look like icicles which in Italian would be ghiaccioli. ........

Source: Wikipedia