Tea with Mussolini (1999)

Tea With Mussolini is a touching and nostalgic, semi-autobiographical movie based on the director’s memories of his childhood in Florence before and during World War II.

Born in 1923, Franco Zeffirelli was a child born out of wedlock, brought up by a British governess after the death of his mother. That’s how he got involved with the The Scorpioni, a small close-knit group of elderly English and American ladies who taught him the English language and passed on to him their passion for literature. It were The Scorpioni who inspired him to make the film. 

Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Italy 1999. 117 mins