Then it was Italians for the Swiss. Recent it was Romanians for the Italians. And now the Chinese for the Romanians. This movie talks about the courage and the naivety of becoming a foreigner in the endless search for "the better". In the end...it remains a search and that is because we are not moving from a country to another inside ourselves. We are keeping the same place there: the place called "us- who we really are". The search remains without meaning, without result if we can't understand the importance of looking at us and understand the cultural and spiritual significance of our core. The story: An Italian becomes an immigrant in Sweetland, in search for what his country can't give to him and his family; financial stability. Here he has to face new and continuous challenges, even greater than the ones he had to face in his country and son... the hero finds himself fighting with destiny itself who seem to have made a job out of the continuous effort of putting Nino down and tryings to show him who he is and that he must not forget what the reason is for his presence in the semi-adoptive country. A drama full of comic and hilarious situations where the director really knows what is the difference between comic and drama and how to put them next to each other without failing to send the message. But more important, the comic is on the highest standard of intelligence; simple and efficient as you expect from a movie that has cinematic power inside as well as an important theme to explore and expose: immigration. The acting is incredible and all the actors manage to deliver it to the highest expectations. Nino Manfredi is exceptional and extremely well distributed in this role created with the sensibility for abstract. A movie to remain in history before and after all the countries will merge into one.

If all the film-festival awards this movie has won haven't convinced you to see it, then my review probably will not either. Regardless, it is important to know how well-done this movie truly is. Nino Manfredi does an absolutely stellar performance as a poor Italian immigrant trying to fit in in a world which dislikes him and his kind. From the start, this seems like a regular enjoyable comedy, but quickly transitions into both a comedy and a drama. On the one-hand, Manfredi's Chaplinesque "loveable loser" character is both endearing and hilarious. On the other hand, the film offers true insight into the problem of immigrational bias and cultural dissimilarity, and a stabbing insight into the premise of a national identity; how it is both meaningless and yet extremely important. This film deserves every award it received and then some.

I was four when Bread and Chocolate played at a small theater in San Francisco. My mother decided to take me(no babysitter). The story I've heard many, many times was that I was upset with her that she wouldn't (although now I realize it was more that she couldn't) read the subtitles to me. I eventually became frustrated with her and moved two isles over. My mom has said that she would turn to watch me and although I couldn't truly read the subtitle or comprehend the language, I laughed continually throughout the movie. She said I truly enjoyed Bread and Chocolate. Many years later I rented the movie and it's amazing. It's exactly as I remembered it. Truly a gem of a movie, though the second time around I was able to fully grasp the meaning of this movie. It's universal and it's timeless. I now own this on DVD and have enjoyed sharing it with my family and friends. Certainly a must see movie!

This is a warm, wonderful film. It is touching and funny and one of the very best "humanistic" films from Italy after Fellini lost his touch. It's hard to understand why this film is so little know to younger movie buffs. If you can find it, take a look!