Nei primi anni Ottanta, Massimo Troisi e Roberto Benigni erano i due volti di punta di una nuova ondata comica italiana. Il primo, napoletano, era il maestro della comicità di sottrazione, fatta di silenzi, borbotti, timidezze ed esitazioni poetiche. Il secondo, toscano, era un fiume in piena di energia fisica, sfrontatezza verbale e satira dissacrante.
Mario, the more melancholic character, confesses a secret: he is not just a time traveler; he is a dead man walking. In his own time, he has a terminal illness. By traveling to 1492, he has escaped a slow death in a sterile hospital. This revelation—delivered with Troisi’s heartbreaking restraint—recontextualizes the entire film. The absurdity of the Middle Ages becomes preferable to the loneliness of modern death. Non Ci Resta Che Piangere Film
The story begins in contemporary 1980s Tuscany. Mario (Massimo Troisi), a mild-mannered school caretaker, and Saverio (Roberto Benigni), an eccentric and high-strung elementary school teacher, are driving through the countryside. After getting stuck at a closed railroad crossing and trapped by a sudden rainstorm, their car breaks down. They seek shelter in a rustic, dilapidated inn for the night. Nei primi anni Ottanta, Massimo Troisi e Roberto
The title itself—which translates to "We can do nothing but cry" —comes from a supposed historical letter written by Savonarola. Today, the phrase is a common idiom in the Italian language, used humorously when a situation is so absurdly unfixable that laughing or crying are the only options left. Mario, the more melancholic character, confesses a secret:
The plot follows Mario (Troisi), a reserved school janitor, and Saverio (Benigni), a high-strung teacher. While waiting at a railroad crossing, they decide to take a rural shortcut, get stranded in a storm, and wake up to find themselves transported back to the year .