''Serafino'' (also known as ''Serafino ou L'amour aux champs'' in France) is a 1968 Italian film directed by Pietro Germi.

Plot

Serafino is a nature-boy who never attended school. He relishes the simple life as a shepherd in the mountains of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Arquata del Tronto Arquata del Tronto is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ascoli Piceno in the Marche region of Italy, located about from Ancona. It is the only European municipality located partly within two natural parks: Gran Sasso e Monti della Lag ...

, Marche. When he is called up but as a soldier and has to serve in a big city, he is a troublemaker and eventually the military decides to send him home early. When he returns home he discovers that his cousin Lidia has become an attractive woman. He neglects his old friend Asmara, the local hooker, and starts a secret love affair with Lidia. But when their old aunt Gesuina dies, Lidia acts as greedy as her whole family and Serafino openly resents that. To everybody's surprise Gesuina has chosen Serafino as her heir. Serafino doesn't hesitate to squander the money with his friends, buying them gifts and a brand new convertible for himself. When the car gets stuck in a pothole, Serafino and his friends try to push it out, ending up with the driverless car barreling down into a ravine and destroying it. This is unbearable for his uncle Agenore (Lidia's father) who therefore decides to file a petition to have Serafino declared mentally incompetent. At court Serafino tries to defend himself. He doesn't take the matter seriously and gloats about the fact that even the military couldn't deal with him either. In the end the judge decides against him. Even so, Agenore cannot get hold of Serafino's money. Yet he learns that Serafino can still marry and then his wife would be his legal guardian and thus allowed to manage his estate at will. Later he tries to force Serafino into marrying Lidia. But again Serafino pretends to be too dumb to comply and once again this ploy is successful. In the end he marries Asmara and returns to his work as a shepherd.

Cast

* Adriano Celentano: Serafino *

Saro Urzì Rosario "Saro" Urzì (24 February 1913 – 1 November 1979) was an Italian actor. He is best known for his roles in the films '' In the Name of the Law'' (1949), '' The Railroad Man'' (1956), '' Seduced and Abandoned'' (1964), which earned him ...

: Uncle Agenore *

Francesca Romana Coluzzi Francesca Romana Coluzzi (20 May 1943 – 15 July 2009) was an Italian actress. A respected dramatic actress on stage, she is probably best known for her roles in the commedia sexy all'italiana. Life and career Born in Tirana, Albania of Italia ...

: Asmara * Ottavia Piccolo: Lidia *

Amedeo Trilli Amedeo Trilli (9 July 1906 – 30 November 1971) was an Italian film and television actor. Life and career Born in Ronciglione, Viterbo, at very young age Trilli worked as a circus artist, then in 1922 he studied performance at the Accademia ...

: Pasquale * Nerina Montagnani: Aunt Gesuina * Benjamin Lev: Armido *

Nazzareno Natale Nazzareno Natale (4 April 1938 – 21 June 2006) was an Italian actor He played Rojo Gang Member in '' Per un pugno di dollari'', Paco in ''For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), and Bountyhunter in '' Il buono il bruto il cattivo'' (1966), by Sergio ...

: Silio

Awards

* Golden Prize at the 6th Moscow International Film Festival in 1969.

References

External links

* * 1968 films Italian comedy-drama films 1960s Italian-language films 1968 comedy-drama films Films directed by Pietro Germi Films produced by Angelo Rizzoli Films scored by Carlo Rustichelli Films shot in Abruzzo 1960s Italian films {{comedy-drama-film-stub