The hope was that Benvenuti al Nord (welcome to the north), the sequel to Benvenuti al Sud (welcome to the south) would make a big splash and it has, earning 7.5 million in four days. MYmovies.it is calling last Saturday one of the best days of all time in Italian cinema, having taken in 3.5 million, and the expectation is that by today’s end the film will have earned over 10 million euro.
If I were making a list of movies that would do well in US cineplexes, Benvenuti al Sud would be at the top of that list. It’s a comedy that was remade from the French comedy “ Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis” (Welcome to the Sticks) – and in this case “the sticks” are in the north of France and the desirable location is the south. But one country’s hang ups at a time – Italy is more like us in America. In Italy, as in the United States, the stereotypical “sticks” is more likely to be in the southern parts of the country. I love, love, loved it, and so did Italy – it was number two at the box office in Italy last year (nothing was going to catch Checco’s Che Bella Giornata).
In Benvenuti al Sud, Alberto (Claudio Bisio) and his family (his wife, Silvia played by Angela Finocchiaro) lives in a small town not far from Milan and dreams of moving to the big city but when Alberto applies for a transfer he learns that handicapped people are being shown preference. Alberto fails in his wacky, not very believable attempt to make superiors believe he’s needs a wheelchair to get around and his punishment is 2 years in the south.
In Benvenuti al Nord, Alberto finally gets his promotion and everybody ends up in Milano – take a look.
I Love Italian Everything 