Alberto Express

Stars: Sergio Castellitto (The Big Blue), Nino Manfredi (Bread and Chocolate). Arthur Joffe's madcap Italian comedy begins on a wonderful high note: 15-year-old Alberto (Sergio Castellitto) is informed by his Papa (Nino Manfredi) of an interesting family tradition. To wit, all male sons must pay their fathers the cost of their upbringing (down to the last diaper) before they themselves become fathers. In Alberto's case, the tab comes to a cool 30 million lire. 25 years later, Alberto is broke, and his wife is preparing to give birth. Grabbing the red-eye express to Rome, Alberto cadges, fleeces, and begs money and valuables off the passengers on the train, hoping to raise the 30 million lire before his wife drops the bambino. Unfortunately, this clever premise rather quickly dissipates into a one-joke movie: for the better part of 90 minutes, Alberto careens from one uninspired situation to the next in the limited confines (both actual and comic) of the train. To make matters worse, improbable coincidences and curious encounters leave the viewer confused as to whether the whole train trip is real, a dream, or an extended fantasy sequence. Although Alberto Express has a lovely ending, and features some gorgeous cinematography, too much of the trip will provoke either head-scratching or snores from general viewers. Audience: Die-hard foreign film fans.