The Monster (1994 film)
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''The Monster'' (Italian: ''Il mostro'') is a 1994 Italian-French
comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
, starring
Roberto Benigni Roberto Remigio Benigni (; born 27 October 1952) is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing and starring in the Holocaust comedy-drama film ''Life Is Beautiful'' (1997), f ...
as a man who is mistaken by police profilers for a
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
due to a misunderstanding of the man's strange behavior. This film was, at the time it came out, the highest-grossing film in Italy, bested later by another Benigni film, ''
Life is Beautiful ''Life Is Beautiful'' ( it, La vita è bella, ) is a 1997 Italian comedy drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who emplo ...
''.


Plot

Loris (Roberto Benigni) is a part-time mannequin handler for a department store. He hopes to learn
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
in order to get an assistant manager position. He lives in a building where he hasn't paid the rent in months, and he also owes money to other people around town. At a party, Loris is told about a
nymphomania Hypersexuality is extremely frequent or suddenly increased libido. It is controversial whether it should be included as a clinical diagnosis used by mental healthcare professionals. Nymphomania and satyriasis were terms previously used for the c ...
c who will sleep with anyone. Loris approaches the wrong woman, who runs away and tells the police. Because of his odd behavior, he becomes the chief suspect in a series of rape/murders. The chief of police, frustrated by the lack of solid evidence against Loris, resolves to provoke his passion and catch him "red-handed." An attractive police officer, Jessica (
Nicoletta Braschi Nicoletta Braschi (; born 19 April 1960) is an Italian actress and producer, best known for her work with her husband, actor and director Roberto Benigni. Life and career Born in Cesena, Braschi studied in Rome's Academy of Dramatic Arts wher ...
) goes undercover as his roommate, and is directed by the chief and the police doctor, Paride (
Michel Blanc Michel Blanc (born 16 April 1952) is a French actor, writer and director. He is noted for his roles of losers and hypochondriacs. He is frequently associated with Le Splendid, which he co-founded, along with Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko, ...
), to dress provocatively in order to entrap Loris. After a few days living in his apartment, Jessica begins to doubt Loris really is the killer. Paride, however, is convinced that Loris is on the brink of committing his next crime. Paride visits Jessica's apartment on the pretext of fitting Loris for a suit. He performs all sorts of medical tests and Loris remains clueless, thinking he really is being fitted for a suit. Later, Loris goes to interview at the Chinese company. His teacher gives him a little Chinese good luck charm, and Jessica sees this. Loris bombs the interview, unable to answer the very first question: to tell his name. Jessica is about to give up on the case when Paride brings her a Little Red Riding Hood costume and says the chief orders her to put it on. Paride is certain this will unleash Loris' "erotic urges." Jessica does as instructed but Loris remains unmoved. Jessica is back at the police station when they get news that the killer has struck again. At the crime scene, Jessica finds the good luck charm and connects it to Loris' Chinese instructor. She goes to the instructor's house, where she finds both Loris and the teacher. She instructs a uniformed officer to release Loris, then she calmly directs the real killer to a squad car. The film concludes with Loris and Jessica kissing and then walking off into the sunset.


Reception

The film opened with a record gross of $13.4 million in its opening week in Italy and was
number one Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...
for three weeks. It went on to gross $23 million in Italy, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time. TV and newspaper film critics in the United States were generally dismissive of this film. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has a 40% rating based on reviews from 10 critics. James Brundage at filmcritic.com writes of this film that "It's childish, it's fun, and you can get it without understanding a single word of Italian... well, maybe not the third part but you still don't have to use your brain all that much." Chris Hicks of ''Deseret News'' was much less impressed by this film: "But after about an hour, Benigni and his film have worn out their welcome — and there's still almost an hour to go." He's surprised that "this movie was a monster hit — the biggest moneymaker in Italian movie history." Scholars, on the other hand, see the film as attack on the "conformity" and "compulsory consumption" brought about by
Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...
’s media society within a discussion of Benigni’s roots in the Commedia dell’arte and a reflection on the often repeated comparison of Benigni with
Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
." Benigni has also been compared to
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
, with the ending of ''The Monster'' being compared to the ending of '' Modern Times''. "Their weird crouching walk into the sunset mediates (puts a spin on) the final walk at the end of Modern Times, the only Charlie Chaplin comedy in which his Little Tramp character walks into the sunset with a woman and not by himself."


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Monster, The 1994 films 1994 comedy films French comedy films Italian comedy films Films set in Rome Films directed by Roberto Benigni Films with screenplays by Vincenzo Cerami Films shot in Rome 1990s French films