Portrait of a fairy tale Rome

Rating: 6/10 (21 April 2013)

I was very curious of watching this movie and how Woody Allen would have portrayed Rome and I must say I was hugely disappointed. Allen depicts a fairy tale Rome with unrealistic clean streets of the working class Trastevere neighborhood and with an unrealistic color of the picture which gives the idea of being in some wonderland. Another example of how Allen has a strange idea of Italy and its inhabitants is how the couple Milly and Antonio, coming from a provincial life, are dressed, which is with clothes youngsters would have wore in the 50s. It's clear by some scenes of the movie how the director wanted to deliver his homage to Rome and to Fellini, but he totally misses the soul and the essence of the eternal city. After watching this movie I wonder if Woody Allen's recent previous movies, set in European cities, which I was pretty pleased with, had the same effect on the inhabitants of the concerned cities as "To Rome with Love" had on me. However I give this movie a 6 because I found Allen's jokes funny and the scenes of Giancarlo, the aspiring Tenor, performing in the shower very amusing.