moving, sad and above all really good

you got it. It's just heartbreaking.

It's the first movie I watched in 2012 and already I doubt I'll see anything better.

I was hoping for a great performance by Mastroianni, of course, but Loren took me by surprised with her weary, downbeaten look. I think she got into character even better than him.

And I certainly wasn't expecting such a perfect, intimate drama. It's amazing how the two practically carried the whole movie on their backs, just by being inside dingy rooms talking about their feelings. Now that's powerful cinema.

This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.

I agree with the others. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. I have nothing against Ettore Scola but he has never really got through to me. Needless to say, this was a complete exception. I was extremely touched -- and especially by Loren's interpretation. I was immediately reminded by Visconti's White Nights. And yes by the film not so much the novel, which I also love though. Scola manages to give the visual expression not only for the characters' emotions but also their existentialist experience. So good!

Great mature film, yes. I never liked Mastroianni that much but here he was great, as was Loren... playing against their usual casting types definitely helped... they felt more human here than their normally glittery images.

Rather good filming, very Italian and also sort of 70s art cinema feel and yet the camera felt personal. I especially liked the use of German march music as a tool to reflect these two people against hard values of their own time.

I wonder how gay people feel about this film, as Mastroianni's character was sort of "converted" for a moment...

8/10, great film.