The Secret of Santa Vittoria
by Robert Crichton
I’ve seen the film version of The Secret of Santa Vittoria several times, and I love it. It’s charming, heartwarming, and funny. The novel itself does have some humor in it, as the author describes the mindset of the Italian people (or perhaps it was only funny to me because I have Italian heritage). But the book is actually a drama. It starts with one small but significant difference from the movie, and the detail grows as the story continues: Italo Bombolini is not stupid. In the film, he has never heard of Machiavelli and learns as he goes along. In the book, he’s cunning and has studied The Prince for years, committing most of it to memory. He’s merely been waiting for his chance to act upon his plans.
In the film there are a few scenes of torture, brief but still effective. In the novel, they are quite extensive and upsetting. The next time I read it, I’ll probably skip over those passages. I absolutely will read the novel again, because Robert Crichton’s writing style is so lovely to read. He’s incredibly intelligent and peppers the realistic description of the town with dialogue so typically Italian. He also includes several sections that were cut from the film, sections written from Von Prum’s point of view. In them, we learn his character and his master plan of conquering the town without bloodshed. He’s stubborn, very proud, intelligent, and relatively naïve, thinking that a civilized war can be waged. I can’t help but think Hardy Kruger read the book while preparing for his role, since I noticed nuances of his performance that reflected back to the text.
If you aren’t familiar with the story, I’d recommend watching the movie first. It’ll make you laugh and it gives you such an emotional feeling during the wine sequence. Then visit the book and see the darkness behind the plot.
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of the 1969 film adaptation here!
In the film there are a few scenes of torture, brief but still effective. In the novel, they are quite extensive and upsetting. The next time I read it, I’ll probably skip over those passages. I absolutely will read the novel again, because Robert Crichton’s writing style is so lovely to read. He’s incredibly intelligent and peppers the realistic description of the town with dialogue so typically Italian. He also includes several sections that were cut from the film, sections written from Von Prum’s point of view. In them, we learn his character and his master plan of conquering the town without bloodshed. He’s stubborn, very proud, intelligent, and relatively naïve, thinking that a civilized war can be waged. I can’t help but think Hardy Kruger read the book while preparing for his role, since I noticed nuances of his performance that reflected back to the text.
If you aren’t familiar with the story, I’d recommend watching the movie first. It’ll make you laugh and it gives you such an emotional feeling during the wine sequence. Then visit the book and see the darkness behind the plot.
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of the 1969 film adaptation here!