07/19/2025
🎬🎬 Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963), directed by Vittorio De Sica, is a dazzling showcase of Italian cinema at its most charismatic and seductive — a triptych of short stories, each starring the iconic duo Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in different roles, locations, and romantic entanglements. 🇮🇹💋📽️
The film begins with “Adelina,” set in working-class Naples, where Loren plays a fiery black-market cigarette seller who avoids jail by continuously getting pregnant. Her chemistry with Mastroianni (as her exhausted but loving husband) is electric and hilarious — their scenes pulse with warmth, wit, and a raw physicality that feels alive.
In “Anna,” we shift to the wealthy world of Milan. Loren becomes a glamorous, cold socialite, while Mastroianni is her idealistic lover. Here, the tone is more cynical — a look at class, materialism, and how love wilts under the weight of wealth. The sleek car ride through Milan becomes a metaphor for their crumbling passion.
Finally, in “Mara,” Loren is a high-end Roman es**rt with surprising tenderness, and Mastroianni plays a neurotic client obsessed with her. This segment is both comedic and sensual, culminating in one of the most iconic stripteases in film history — Loren in black lace, with Mastroianni sweating in agony. It’s unforgettable.
What ties the stories together is not plot, but the dueling forces of desire and dignity, and how men and women play out their roles within society’s expectations. Loren is a revelation in each part — earthy, glamorous, hilarious, and heartbreaking — and Mastroianni matches her every step of the way.
🎬 Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow is breezy yet profound, sexy yet satirical — a timeless celebration of love, lust, and life in all its contradictions.
🍷 It’s Italian cinema at its most irresistible: stylish, spirited, and full of soul.