The film is set in Sagliena, an imaginary small town in central Italy; Marshal Antonio Carotenuto, an elderly womanizer who will have to adapt to the monotonous and quiet life of the village, is transferred here immediately after the war. Supported by the maid Caramella, the marshal runs the local Carabinieri station. Here he meets "Pizzicarella la Bersagliera", a young local girl secretly in love with the carabiniere Stelluti. At first the marshal tries to get engaged to the "Bersagliera", as Paoletta, the sacristan of the parish, is in love with the carabiniere Stelluti, but the latter is actually in love with the Bersagliera and wants her mother to know her. So, thanks to the intervention of Don Emidio, who informs the marshal, Stelluti and the Bersagliera get engaged while the marshal, on the evening of the feast of Sant'Antonio, gets engaged to the town's midwife: Annarella.[3]
Pane, amore e fantasia is usually considered the most famous example of Pink neorealism.
The film contains what many critics regard as Gina Lollobrigida's best and most naturalistic performance.
Sequels
The film's popularity resulted in two sequels, one with Lollobrigida in 1954: Pane, amore e gelosia (Bread, Love and Jealousy, US title: Frisky) and the open-ended Pane, amore e... (English title: Scandal in Sorrento) in 1955, starring Sophia Loren in the female lead role. De Sica also reprised his role in the Spanish-set Bread, Love and Andalusia (1958).
In popular culture
In The Andy Griffith Show, Season 5, Episode 17, Barney Fife sends a letter saying he watched this movie while on vacation in Raleigh, NC. However, he calls the movie “Bread, Love and Beans” in his letter to Andy.
