Tea with Mussolini (1999) is a semi-autobiographical film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, telling the story of young Italian boy Luca's upbringing by a kind British woman and her circle of friends.
The film begins in Florence, Italy, where a group of cultured expatriate British women — called by the Italians the Scorpioni — meet for tea every afternoon. Young Luca (Charlie Lucas) is the illegitimate son of an Italian businessman. When Luca's mothe...
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Tea with Mussolini (1999) is a semi-autobiographical film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, telling the story of young Italian boy Luca's upbringing by a kind British woman and her circle of friends.
The film begins in Florence, Italy, where a group of cultured expatriate British women — called by the Italians the Scorpioni — meet for tea every afternoon. Young Luca (Charlie Lucas) is the illegitimate son of an Italian businessman. When Luca's mother dies, his father shows no interest in his son's upbringing and Mary Wallace (Joan Plowright) steps in as his guardian. Finding the task of bringing up a young boy alone daunting, she turns to the Scorpioni women for support. Together, they teach Luca many lessons about life. Mary acquaints him with the works of Shakespeare and he is introduced to modern art by a rich, young, attractive American widow, Elsa Morganthal Strauss-Almerson (Cher). Elsa sets up a financial trust for Luca's future because his late mother was Elsa's dressmaker and to...
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