Caprice Italian Style

Caprice Italian Style

Year: 1968

Runtime: 79 mins

Language: Italian

Directors: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Mauro Bolognini

Comedy

The film consists of six short stories created by different directors, but all the stories share one thing: a warm irony to current events.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Caprice Italian Style yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – Caprice Italian Style (1968)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Caprice Italian Style (1968). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

1960s

The stories are rooted in a contemporary 1960s milieu, reflecting modern urban life, changing gender roles, and evolving social attitudes. The humor targets postwar modernization, consumerism, and the clash between tradition and youth culture. The setting uses current fashion, travel, and media to critique society with a playful, incisive edge.

Location

Germany, Rome, Africa, United Kingdom

Caprice Italian Style unfolds across multiple settings: a German nanny's household, the traffic-clogged streets of Rome, and scenes set in Africa during a royal visit. The shifting locales are used to satirize national stereotypes, social norms, and the performance of everyday roles. Some sequences blend interior domestic spaces with stage-like or cinematic frames to amplify the film's meta-commentary.

🎭 Satire 🧭 Travel 🕰️ 1960s

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:48

Main Characters – Caprice Italian Style (1968)

Meet the key characters of Caprice Italian Style (1968), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Othello - Ninetto Davoli

In the puppet vignette, Othello embodies a flawed hero who confronts betrayal and moral ambiguity. The performance blurs the line between tragedy and farce, inviting reflection on how roles are constructed. His interactions with Iago reveal how perception shapes reality within a satire about power and jealousy.

🗣️ Power 🌀 Meta-theatre

Desdemona - Laura Betti

Desdemona appears alongside Othello in the puppetry sequence, representing trust and vulnerability. Her arc exposes how truth is manipulated on stage and off, probing gender dynamics and innocence under scrutiny. She embodies the tension between appearance and reality in a world of performance.

💬 Relationship 🧭 Loyalty

Iago - Totò

Iago is the cunning puppet-master whose schemes expose deceit within a theatrical frame. Totò uses humor to puncture pretension while highlighting the corrosive effects of manipulation. His presence drives the meta-commentary on reputation and power.

🗡️ Manipulation ⚡ Scheming

Cassio - Franco Franchi

Cassio appears as a secondary figure whose interactions heighten trust and misfortune in the puppet narrative. His role underscores the fragility of reputation within a social satire. He acts as a foil that amplifies the drama and comedic tone.

👔 Bureaucracy 🧠 Strategy

Roderigo - Ciccio Ingrassia

Roderigo serves as a foil to the protagonists, illustrating social climbing and the volatility of ambition. His presence adds satire and commentary on aspiration within a world of performance. He contributes to the episodic structure by highlighting misdirected zeal.

🧪 Ambition 🗺️ Satire

La Regina - Silvana Mangano

In the Africa episode, the Queen acts as a diplomat whose speech misfires and sparks misunderstanding. Her multifaceted roles across episodes probe diplomacy, stereotypes, and media narratives. She embodies the multiplicity of power and perception in satire.

🌍 Postcolonial 🤝 Diplomacy

Lo Spazzino - Domenico Modugno

The janitor character anchors the modern urban satire, offering a grounded perspective on daily life amid the film's broader social critique. His presence provides a counterpoint to grandiose narratives with humor and resilience. He helps bridge the segments through a common, accessible view of city life.

🧹 Satire 🧭 Urban life

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:48

Major Themes – Caprice Italian Style (1968)

Explore the central themes of Caprice Italian Style (1968), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🪩 Counterculture

Set against the late-1960s backdrop, the episodes pit rigid social norms against rising youth rebellion and hippie-like attitudes. The old bourgeois protagonist faces the freedoms and fashions of a changing world, exposing hypocrisy and generational tension. Humor masks sharper social critique of conformity, consumerism, and the search for identity. The meta-theatrical framing underscores how appearances mask deeper social tensions.

💬 Satire

Through quick vignettes, the film skewers rules, morality, and pretension in everyday life. Institutions, media, and fashion are lampooned as agents of control or spectacle. The humor reveals how society continually negotiates legitimacy, reputation, and aspiration. Each segment uses wit to sharpen observations about modern life.

🌍 Cross-Cultural

Episodes leverage Germany, Rome, and Africa to expose stereotypes and miscommunications across cultures. The Africa segment, in particular, probes colonial-era dynamics and the performative aspects of diplomacy. The juxtaposition of locales highlights how culture shapes perception and humor. The film uses travel as a lens to critique power and representation.

💔 Relationships

Several vignettes turn on love, jealousy, and trust within couples and social circles. The confrontations reveal how couples negotiate desire, loyalty, and social pressures. Reconciliation or betrayal is often intertwined with public performances and misunderstandings. The final episodes circle back to the resilience of affection amid satire.

👑 Power

Authority figures and traditional norms surface in varied forms, from aristocratic pomp to systemic expectations. A mis-speech by a Queen-like figure triggers social repercussions, illustrating how power relies on image and interpretation. The satire exposes the fragility of control when communication fails. Across segments, power dynamics are examined with wit and skepticism.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 15:48

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Unlock the Full Story of Caprice Italian Style

Don't stop at just watching — explore Caprice Italian Style in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Caprice Italian Style is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Caprice Italian Style Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Caprice Italian Style, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Caprice Italian Style Summary

Caprice Italian Style Timeline

Track the full timeline of Caprice Italian Style with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Caprice Italian Style Timeline

More About Caprice Italian Style

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Caprice Italian Style: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Caprice Italian Style

Similar Movies to Caprice Italian Style

Discover movies like Caprice Italian Style that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.