It Happened in the Park

IT HAPPENED IN THE PARK sets five short vignettes in the stunning Villa Borghese Gardens in Rome. Co-directed by the Neorealist master Vittorio De Sica (THE BICYCLE THIEF, THE GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS), the vignettes expose the drama, comedy, and irony in the lives of visitors to the park over a 24-hour period in this documentary-style slice of life. The first vignette exposes the lives of an aging prostitute and her lover. De Sica stars in the second piece as a dandy who gets caught in the middle of a young couple's quarrel. De Sica sets up his own secret meeting with the attractive girl, only to find himself joined by her betrothed lover, a nosey observer, and the girl's mother. The next vignette offers a charming dramedy as a marriage broker and several family members attempt to create a match for a flawed young woman. The fourth tale provides the heartiest laughs as a pampered wife and her friend become entangled in a beauty contest while on the run from the police. The combination of these fanciful shorts with the backdrop of life in the French park creates a beguiling perspective on the sordid social disorder of urban life. Director De Sica films various visitors to the park over a 24-hour period in this documentary-style slice of life.