Rotten Tomatoes

Movies / TV

    Celebrity

      No Results Found

      View All
      Movies Tv shows Movie Trivia News Showtimes

      Miracle in Milan

      1951, Fantasy, 1h 36m

      13 Reviews 1,000+ Ratings

      You might also like

      See More
      Let It Be
      For Me and My Gal
      The Times of Harvey Milk
      A Nous la Liberte
      Hobson's Choice

      Where to watch Miracle in Milan

      Rent/buy Subscription

      Watch Miracle in Milan with a subscription on Max, rent on Vudu, or buy on Vudu.

      Rate And Review

      User image

      Verified

      • User image

        Super Reviewer

        Rate this movie

        Oof, that was Rotten.

        Meh, it passed the time.

        It’s good – I’d recommend it.

        Awesome!

        So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

        What did you think of the movie? (optional)



      • You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

      • User image

        Super Reviewer

        Step 2 of 2

        How did you buy your ticket?

        Let's get your review verified.

        • Fandango

        • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

        • Cinemark Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Regal Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Theater box office or somewhere else

        You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.

      • User image

        Super Reviewer

        Rate this movie

        Oof, that was Rotten.

        Meh, it passed the time.

        It’s good – I’d recommend it.

        Awesome!

        So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

        What did you think of the movie? (optional)

      • How did you buy your ticket?

        • Fandango

        • AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

        • Cinemark Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Regal Coming Soon

          We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

        • Theater box office or somewhere else

      Miracle in Milan  Photos

      Miracle in Milan (1951) Miracle in Milan (1951) Miracle in Milan (1951) Miracle in Milan (1951) Miracle in Milan (1951) Miracle in Milan (1951)

      Movie Info

      When Lolotta (Emma Gramatica) finds a baby in her cabbage patch, she raises him as her own. Years later, Lolotta dies, and young Toto (Francesco Golisano) quickly bounces from the orphanage to the street. A holy fool of sorts, he falls in with a ragtag group of homeless people whose junkyard he helps organize into a more livable, ordered environment. Everything's rosy until oil is discovered underneath the yard, and a ruthless capitalist attempts to drive the group away.

      • Genre: Fantasy

      • Original Language: English

      • Director: Vittorio De Sica

      • Producer: Vittorio De Sica

      • Writer: Cesar Zavattini

      • Release Date (Theaters):  original

      • Rerelease Date (Theaters):

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Runtime:

      Cast & Crew

      Critic Reviews for Miracle in Milan

      Audience Reviews for Miracle in Milan

      • May 24, 2011

        You would be well within your rights to hate "Miracle in Milan." The film turns goofier and goofier as it proceeds and, by the last half-hour, it's such a delirious fantasy that it may draw unintended laughs. But we're suckers for this sort of feel-good tale, and if the movie were American rather than Italian, it might have "It's a Wonderful Life" status today. The story tips its hand from the start, opening with an old woman (Emma Gramatica) finding a baby in a cabbage patch. No kidding. Clearly, this will not be another of director Vittorio De Sica's grim, neo-realist dramas. (Like most of the cast, Gramatica overacts so much that her character borders on lunacy.) Several years pass. The woman dies, and her harvested son Toto (Francesco Golisano) is sent to an orphanage. After another jump in time, he emerges from the facility as a young adult. He strolls into the outside world with an idealistic grin, naively tipping his hat to everyone he passes. Poverty is rampant, and a grizzled pauper soon steals Toto's bag. But hardships have a mysterious way of turning around for this plucky Christ figure: Toto goes after the thief, befriends him and ends up being welcomed to the local shantytown. Erected on a dry vacant lot, this makeshift neighborhood hosts a good-natured population that values life's small pleasures. One memorable scene finds an excited group huddled on a spot where a sunbeam has broken through the clouds. And when a life-size statue is found in the trash, it's re-erected as a landmark. Elsewhere, the people scramble for pocket change in various trivial ways such as selling junk, telling fortunes (the man repeats the same platitudes to everyone) and charging a pittance for seats to watch the sunset. Once Toto settles here, he quickly becomes a community leader with his kindness, creativity and cheerful spirit. He also builds a sweet romance with a mousy girl named Edvige. Meanwhile, the landowner been generously tolerant of all these squatters, but his attitude changes when oil begins spurting from multiple holes on the property. The residents are immediately pressured to leave. But then arrives the titular "miracle" -- one of the most perfect examples of a "deus ex machina" in film history. Explaining more would be a spoiler, but be advised that Toto's lucky twists of fate turn outright magical. The final scene is wholly predictable, just because this fairy tale couldn't end any other way. "Miracle in Milan" has plenty of absurdist laughs -- hexed policemen singing opera, a tethered baby who serves as a doorbell, a policeman who dangles outside a window to report wind conditions, an outdated gag about a mixed-race couple -- but adds a sharp jab here and there. One satirical scene shows a merchant hiring beggars to say "Fano chocolate is the best" as they panhandle. Ouch. Or did such things really happen?

        eric b Super Reviewer
      • Apr 26, 2010

        A charming (and often bizarre) Italian comedy.

        Super Reviewer
      • Feb 02, 2007

        Vittorio de Sica's most charming fairytale family story and his first attempt to step away a little fom the Neorealism. A direct and surreal criticism towards democratic societies... hehehe... 88/100

        Super Reviewer

      Movie & TV guides

      View All