The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
After the film, guests from The Huntington's production of Prayer for the French Republic will join us for a post-screening discussion.
Director Vittorio DeSica (Bicycle Theives) won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film for this classic Italian drama, based on the renowned semi-autobiographical novel by Giorgio Bassani.
Amid the ravages of WWII, the Finzi-Continis, a cultured Jewish family, languish in aristocratic splendor on their Eden-like estate in Ferrara, Italy. As the political atmosphere becomes increasingly hostile to its Jewish citizens, the handsome and carefree Finzi-Contini children, Micol (Dominique Sanda) and Alberto (Helmut Berger), turn their well-appointed home into a refuge for their young friends. In an atmosphere of emotional instability, they play out a series of heartbreaking romantic rituals which spiral into tragedy as Fascism gradually descends upon their world.
Prayer for the French Republic plays at The Huntington from September 7-October 8, 2023.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit huntingtontheatre.org.
