Product Description

The Nanny is a galvanic, profound and often shocking film about family ties.

At the dawn of the 20th century, a Professor and his wife bear a child. But the mother cannot supply milk - or even love - to the child. So the professor hires an illiterate country girl as a wet nurse and a nanny. An explosive situation develops between the professor, the mother, the nanny, and the child.
This powerful film was directed by Marco Bellocchio. Bellocchio and Daniela Ceselli wrote the screenplay after a story by Luigi Pirandello. Bellocchio is widely acclaimed as a daring provocateur of sexual mores, as in such films as DEVIL IN THE FLESH. THE NANNYfurther cements his reputation. But THE NANNYis much more than mere provocation - it is also sensitive, intelligent, and wise. END

O'Halloran, Brian - Character: Clerk
Lauren, Dyanna - Character: Herself
Moby - Character: Excalibur
Smith, Joe - Character: Joe
Creech, Grace - Character: Grace
Ave, Jonathan - Character: FBI Guy
Urich, Christian - Character: Christian

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43385 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-07-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Italian
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 106 minutes

Customer Reviews

A mother's role
In "La Balia" (The Nanny) Marco Bellocchio, one of the best directors working in Italy explores maternal character. He has done this before throughout his career; however this time the charcaters are different than those he explored in his previous films and "Gli occhi, la bocca" (The Eyes, The Mouth) in particular. The latter film was autobiographical and the director was taking significant risks and he projected himself onto Giovanni, the protagonist. In "The Nanny" the `mother' character study can proceed with more depth, as this time Bellocchio is not encumbered by auto-biographical concerns and is free to take advantage of more opportunities. In a dramatic birth scene the `mother' figure is dismantled into a series of characters, of different gender and social class. Although inspired by the text of Luigi Pirandello, it cannot be said of "The Nanny" that it is a Pirandellian film. The Sicilian writer is more cynical and his short story features a greater dose of evil and pessimism. Bellocchio's characters have been softened through greater complexity; there is more ample room given to the contrast between the world of men and women, wealth and poverty, origins and culture. Overall I enjoyed the film and recognized the culture. Non-Italians will also enjoy the brilliance with which Pirandello's notions - as translated by Bellocchio - can reveal aspects of Sicilian culture that ahve heretofore remained mysterious