Synopsis
Il Sorpasso (1962) is Dino Risi's tragicomedy, free to watch online on iFILM. In a deserted Rome in August, loud, fortyish Bruno picks up Roberto, a shy law student, in his open-top car — meaning to borrow a phone for a minute, and ending up on the road with him for two whole days.
Bruno tears along the roads of Lazio and Tuscany, overtaking everything in sight, talking nonstop, dragging his passenger into other people's lunches and chance encounters. Roberto, more at home with books and quiet, is mortified at first and then starts to taste the freedom. Vittorio Gassman and Jean-Louis Trintignant carry the whole film between them: one all swagger and charm, the other quietly watching a bolder way to live — and the louder Bruno laughs, the clearer it gets that he's a deeply unhappy man.
The film became the benchmark for commedia all'italiana, and critics credit it with handing later road movies, from Easy Rider onward, their basic grammar. The ending lands like a slap and rewrites everything that felt like light summer fun. If you love a comedy that slips into drama when you're not looking, this is it. Stream Il Sorpasso (1962) online on iFILM.
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