Bruno Ganz, born in Switzerland, has starred in dozens of films since the ’70s and has won multiple awards, but I will always love him for one particular role in my very favorite movie.
As Fernando, the unhappy waiter in Silvio Soldini’s Pane e Tulipani (Bread and Tulips), he’s obviously touched something in me ( My heart? My love of Italy? A nerve?).
Bruno may not seem, at first glance, a likely leading man, but the sensitivity he brings to the unconventional and at times, wacky character, is truly beautiful. His relationship with Rosalba (Licia Maglietta), the runaway housewife, is the sweetest that I have ever seen in a movie.
If you haven’t watched it, first of all, please tell me where you are right now so I can go there and smack you silly, but then PLEASE, just give it a try.
And you’re in luck! I’ve found it free, online, with subtitles:
http://www.ovguide.com/bread-and-tulips-9202a8c04000641f8000000007da0a34
And if you are like me and watch it so many times that you’ve practically memorized all the lines, here’s the script:
http://www.emt.it/italiano/dida/panetu02.html
And for the romantic hearts out there:
Happy Birthday Bruno Ganz! You’ll always be Fernando to me.
I Love Italian Everything 