Bread and tulips = Pane e tulipani

Bread and tulips is an Italian comedy directed by Silvio Soldini, starring his wife, Licia Maglietta. It is the story of Rosalba, a suburban housewife, living in Pescara, Italy with her two teenage sons and boorish husband. On a tour of Italy with her family Rosalba is accidentally left behind at a depot as the bus departs without her. Dismayed that her family could allow this to happen, Rosalba heads back to Pescara, but on a whim decides to take a side trip to Venice, a city she has always longed to see. Once there, Rosalba begins to question the meaning of her life and the role that she plays in the family unit. Rosalba takes up residency in Vencie, engaging with many colourful characters including, Fernando Girasoli (Bruno Ganz), a depressed Finnish waiter, who offers Rosalba a place to stay and Grazia, (Marina Massironi), his eccentric neighbour, a holistic masseuse. Meanwhile, back in Pescara, Rosalba’s domineering husband, who is not coping domestically in her absence, sends an amateur sleuth (Guiseppe Battiston) to search for her. Shot on location in Venice, “Bread and tulips” explores notions of identity and of discovering the meaning of life. In Italian with English subtitles.