A Special Day

Love and loss framed by the sheer ordinariness of a dense Italian housing complex emptied by the celebrations for Hitler's meeting with Mussolini in Rome before World War II. Antonietta (Sophia Loren) is a mature housewife trapped by life and family who finds a companion in Gabriele (Marcello Mastroianni), an older gay journalist facing deportation to Sardinia for his politics as well his sexuality. A day that becomes special for viewers as love grows slowly, finds fruition and fades with the jackboots who drag Gabriele away.