Bello, onesto, emigrato Australia sposerebbe compaesana illibata (Ein Mädchen in Australien)

‘Handsome, honest Australian emigrant wants to marry unspoilt countrywoman’ Amedeo (Alberto Sordi) emigrated 20 years ago, he lives a poor and lonely life, the work has ruined his health. He wants an Italian wife - the Australian women are too independent and emancipated for him - which is why he places an advert with a photo of an attractive friend. After a brief exchange of letters, the prostitute Carmela (Claudia Cardinale) decides to leave Italy to escape her pimp. In Australia, she conceals her former activity and he denies his identity: these are the premises of this bitter comedy, which paints a moral picture of Italian emigration. Sordi not only plays the nostalgic emigrant, he also expresses his anguish, and Cardinale shines a subtle light between real immigrants. Zampa's abysmal farce mines the gap between expectation and reality, neorealism meets burlesque. (Tom Waibel)

Photo: Austrian Film Museum