My Friends

My Friends is a 1975 Italian comedy drama film directed by Mario Monicelli. The film project belonged to Pietro Germi, who had no chance to make it happen because of his untimely death. The opening credits of the film, in fact, paid tribute to the author with the words "a film by Pietro Germi", which is followed only later by "directed by Mario Monicelli". The film, which made it to number one on the Italian box-office in front of Steven Spielberg's Jaws, was followed by two sequels, Amici miei – Atto II (1982, also by Monicelli), Amici miei – Atto III (1985), directed by Nanni Loy. Plot Like in many other Monicelli movies, the main theme of Amici miei is friendship, seen from a rather bitter point of view. It tells the story of four middle-aged friends in Florence who organize together idle pranks (called "zingarate", "gypsy shenanigans") in a continuous attempt to prolong childhood during their adult life.