Queen of Hearts (1989 film)

Plot

"An epic tale of romance, revenge, and cappuccino". An Italian couple tie the knot out of love and elope to London. Four children later, they are running a café in the Italian Quarter. The story is told through the eyes of the young boy Eddie.

Cast

• Vittorio Duse as Nonno
• as Danilo
• Anita Zagaria as Rosa
• Ian Hawkes as Eddie
• Vittorio Amandola as Barbariccia
• Eileen Way as Mama Silvlla
• Cliff Parisi as The Manager

Production

A UK and US co-production, filming took place in Italy and the UK, with a mixed Italian and British cast. It was the first cinema film directed by Jon Amiel, and the first feature film written by Tony Grisoni.

Reception

The film received mostly positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes 3 of 4 critic reviews were positive. US film critic Leonard Maltin included Queen of Hearts in his list of "Great Films You Can't Find on DVD" as well as his book "Leonard Maltin’s 151 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen", and called it an "extraordinary and unusual film about an Italian couple who lead a pleasantly quixotic life in England running a family cafe. Tony Grisoni's screenplay embraces elements of romance, humor, melodrama, mysticism and fantasy in a heady mix. Remarkable first feature for director Amiel." Roger Ebert said that it "has the same sort of magical romanticism as "Moonstruck," but in a more gentle key" and rated it 3.5 out of 4. It won the Montréal First Film Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival in 1989 (at which Vittorio Duse won the best supporting actor prize for his portrayal of Nonno in the film), and won the Grand Prix at the 1990 Festival du Film de Paris.

References

References

1. (2005). "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s - An Information Briefing".
2. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170803191158/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7986dc68 Queen of Hearts (1989)] British Film Institute, retrieved 24 February 2021
3. [https://web.archive.org/web/20190726235239/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba35c41db Jon Amiel], British Film Institute, retrieved 24 February 2021
4. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170803192206/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba0aeb90a Tony Grisoni], British Film Institute, retrieved 24 February 2021
5. [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/queen_of_hearts Queen of Hearts (1989)], [[Rotten Tomatoes]], retrieved 10 February 2021
6. [https://leonardmaltin.com/great-films-you-cant-find-on-dvd/ Great Films You Can't Find on DVD], Leonard Maltin, retrieved 10 February 2021
7. [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/queen-of-hearts-1989 Queen of Hearts], Roger Ebert, 20 October 1989, retrieved 10 February 2021
8. [https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000449/1989/1?ref_=ttawd_ev_1 IMDb, Montréal World Film Festival, 1989], retrieved 15 February 2021
9. [https://archifau.llyfrgell.cymru/index.php/queen-of-hearts Queen Of Hearts], [[National Library of Wales]], Scripts 1/14/1 (Box 30), retrieved 15 February 2021