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The Monster (1994 film)
Encyclopedia
Il Mostro is a 1994 Italian comedy film
. It starred Roberto Benigni
as a man who is mistaken by police profilers for a serial killer
due to a misunderstanding of the man's strange behavior. This film was, at the time it came out, the highest-grossing film in Italy, bested later by another Benigni film, Life is Beautiful
.
in order to get an assistant manager position. He lives in a building where he hasn't paid the rent in months, and he also owes money to other people around town.
At a party, Loris is told about a nymphomaniac who will sleep with anyone. Loris approaches the wrong woman, who runs away and tells the police. Because of his odd behavior, Loris becomes the chief suspect in a series of rape
/murders. The chief of police, frustrated by the lack of solid evidence against Loris, resolves to provoke Loris's passion and catch him "red-handed." An attractive police officer, Jessica (Nicoletta Braschi
) goes undercover as his roommate, and is directed by the police chief and the police doctor, Paride, to dress provocatively in order to entrap Loris.
After a few days living in his apartment, Jessica begins to doubt Loris really is the killer. The police doctor, however, is convinced that Loris is on the brink of committing his 19th rape/murder. Paride visits Jessica's apartment on the pretext of fitting Loris for a suit. He performs all sorts of medical tests and Loris remains clueless, thinking he really is being fitted for a suit.
Loris goes to interview at the Chinese company. His teacher gives him a little Chinese good luck charm, and Jessica sees this. Loris bombs the interview, unable to answer the very first question: to tell his name.
Jessica is about to give up on the case when Paride brings her a Little Red Riding Hood costume and says the police chief orders her to put it on. Paride is certain this will unleash Loris' "erotic urges." Jessica does as instructed but Loris remains unmoved to rape or murder anyone. Jessica is back at the police station when they get news that the serial killer has struck again. At the crime scene, Jessica finds the Chinese good luck charm and connects it to Loris' Chinese instructor. She goes to the Chinese language teacher's house, where she finds both Loris and the teacher. She instructs a uniformed police officer to release Loris, then she calmly directs the real killer to a squad car. The film concludes with Loris and Jessica kissing and then walking off into the sunset.
, this film gets a "rotten" 33% rating on the "critics' tomatometer." James Brundage at filmcritic.com writes of this film that "It's childish, it's fun, and you can get it without understanding a single word of Italian... well, maybe not the third part but you still don't have to use your brain all that much."
Chris Hicks of Deseret News was much less impressed by this film: "But after about an hour, Benigni and his film have worn out their welcome — and there's still almost an hour to go." He's surprised that "this movie was a monster hit — the biggest moneymaker in Italian movie history."
Feminist critics find this film offensive to women. Even Jessica, a competent professional woman, is reduced to a sex object to be bait for a serial killer.
Scholars, on the other hand, see the film as attack on the "conformity" and "compulsory consumption" brought about by Berlusconi
’s media society within a discussion of Benigni’s roots in the Commedia dell’arte and a reflection on the often repeated comparison of Benigni with Buster Keaton
." Benigni has also been compared to Charlie Chaplin
, with the ending of The Monster being compared to the ending of Modern Times
.
The Bollywood film "Kyaa Kool Hai Hum
" was also loosely inspired from this movie.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
. It starred Roberto Benigni
Roberto Benigni
Roberto Remigio Benigni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director of film, theatre and television.- Early years :...
as a man who is mistaken by police profilers for a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
due to a misunderstanding of the man's strange behavior. This film was, at the time it came out, the highest-grossing film in Italy, bested later by another Benigni film, Life is Beautiful
Life Is Beautiful
Life Is Beautiful is a 1997 Italian film which tells the story of a Jewish Italian, Guido Orefice , who must employ his fertile imagination to help his family during their internment in a Nazi concentration camp.At the 71st Academy Awards in 1999, Benigni won the Academy Award for Best Actor and...
.
Plot
Loris (Roberto Benigni) is a part-time mannequin handler for a department store. He hopes to learn the Chinese languageChinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
in order to get an assistant manager position. He lives in a building where he hasn't paid the rent in months, and he also owes money to other people around town.
At a party, Loris is told about a nymphomaniac who will sleep with anyone. Loris approaches the wrong woman, who runs away and tells the police. Because of his odd behavior, Loris becomes the chief suspect in a series of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
/murders. The chief of police, frustrated by the lack of solid evidence against Loris, resolves to provoke Loris's passion and catch him "red-handed." An attractive police officer, Jessica (Nicoletta Braschi
Nicoletta Braschi
Nicoletta Braschi is an Italian actress and producer, best known for her work with her husband, actor and director Roberto Benigni....
) goes undercover as his roommate, and is directed by the police chief and the police doctor, Paride, to dress provocatively in order to entrap Loris.
After a few days living in his apartment, Jessica begins to doubt Loris really is the killer. The police doctor, however, is convinced that Loris is on the brink of committing his 19th rape/murder. Paride visits Jessica's apartment on the pretext of fitting Loris for a suit. He performs all sorts of medical tests and Loris remains clueless, thinking he really is being fitted for a suit.
Loris goes to interview at the Chinese company. His teacher gives him a little Chinese good luck charm, and Jessica sees this. Loris bombs the interview, unable to answer the very first question: to tell his name.
Jessica is about to give up on the case when Paride brings her a Little Red Riding Hood costume and says the police chief orders her to put it on. Paride is certain this will unleash Loris' "erotic urges." Jessica does as instructed but Loris remains unmoved to rape or murder anyone. Jessica is back at the police station when they get news that the serial killer has struck again. At the crime scene, Jessica finds the Chinese good luck charm and connects it to Loris' Chinese instructor. She goes to the Chinese language teacher's house, where she finds both Loris and the teacher. She instructs a uniformed police officer to release Loris, then she calmly directs the real killer to a squad car. The film concludes with Loris and Jessica kissing and then walking off into the sunset.
Reception
TV and newspaper film critics in the United States were generally dismissive of this film. According to Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, this film gets a "rotten" 33% rating on the "critics' tomatometer." James Brundage at filmcritic.com writes of this film that "It's childish, it's fun, and you can get it without understanding a single word of Italian... well, maybe not the third part but you still don't have to use your brain all that much."
Chris Hicks of Deseret News was much less impressed by this film: "But after about an hour, Benigni and his film have worn out their welcome — and there's still almost an hour to go." He's surprised that "this movie was a monster hit — the biggest moneymaker in Italian movie history."
Feminist critics find this film offensive to women. Even Jessica, a competent professional woman, is reduced to a sex object to be bait for a serial killer.
Scholars, on the other hand, see the film as attack on the "conformity" and "compulsory consumption" brought about by Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
’s media society within a discussion of Benigni’s roots in the Commedia dell’arte and a reflection on the often repeated comparison of Benigni with Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
." Benigni has also been compared to Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
, with the ending of The Monster being compared to the ending of Modern Times
Modern Times (film)
Modern Times is a 1936 comedy film by Charlie Chaplin that has his iconic Little Tramp character struggling to survive in the modern, industrialized world. The film is a comment on the desperate employment and fiscal conditions many people faced during the Great Depression, conditions created, in...
.
The Bollywood film "Kyaa Kool Hai Hum
Kyaa Kool Hai Hum
Kyaa Kool Hai Hum is a 2005 Bollywood comedy directed by Sangeeth Sivan and produced by Ekta Kapoor. The film was the surprise box office hit of 2005 and was among the highest grossing films of the year.-Synopsis:...
" was also loosely inspired from this movie.