Divorce Italian Style
Ferdinando Cefalù is desperate to marry his cousin, Angela, but he is married to Rosalia and divorce is illegal in Italy. To get around the law, he tries to trick his wife into having an affair so he can catch her and murder her, as he knows he would be given a light sentence for killing an adulterous woman. He persuades a painter to lure his wife into an affair, but Rosalia proves to be more faithful than he expected.
Ferdinando Cefalù, a Sicilian nobleman, is desperately trying to find a way to divorce his wife, Rosalia, to marry his beautiful young cousin, Angela. However, divorce is illegal in Italy at the time. Frustrated, Ferdinando hatches a dark and convoluted plan to arrange his wife's murder, hoping to get away with it by claiming temporary insanity due to 'passion'.
Divorce Italian Style was a critical and commercial success, lauded for its sharp satire of Italian social mores, particularly regarding marriage, divorce, and the concept of honor killings. Marcello Mastroianni's performance was widely praised, and the film cemented its place as a classic of Italian comedy.
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Won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Marcello Mastroianni). Won Best Original Screenplay at the Golden Globes.
The film's controversial subject matter, which satirized the lack of divorce in Italy and the 'crimes of passion' defense, led to it being banned in several countries, including Spain and Argentina, and it was only shown in parts of the United States with censorship.
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