The Legend of the Christmas Witch (Italian: La Befana vien di notte/ The Befana Comes at Night) is a 2018 Italian-language Christmasfantasy comedy film[1] based on the Italian legend of the Befana. It is an Italian-Spanish co-production directed by Michele Soavi.
During the day Miss Paola works as a schoolteacher in an Italian town, but every night at midnight she transforms into the over 500-year-old Befana, a witch who delivers presents to well-behaved children and unusual surprises to bad ones each year at midnight when it turns January 6. One year a dog chews on the Rolodex she uses to keep track of the children and she fails to deliver a gift in time to a boy named Giovanni Rovasio, who then blames her for all of his subsequent misfortunes, including his parents' divorce.
25 years later, Giovanni has transformed himself into Mr. Johnny, a villain who kidnaps Paola in order to take over delivery of the toys. Riccardo, a student from her class, witnesses the kidnapping. He and five fellow students investigate Paola's storage cellar for clues and discover her secret identity. The children are found by Mr. Johnny's men and put into a trash compactor but Riccardo drops his father's Swiss Army knife in the gears and stops the machine, allowing the children to escape.
Knowing that fire is the only way to harm the Befana, Mr. Johnny ties Paola to a Christmas tree and sets it on fire, using Christmas presents as kindling. Just then the clock strikes midnight and she transforms into the Befana, giving her the power to break free from her bonds and fly away on her broom. Mr. Johnny chases after her on a jet-propelled hoverboard and causes her to crash before trapping her in a bubble in his toy factory.
The children hike to the toy factory but are captured by Mr. Johnny's men. Paola agrees to give Mr. Johnny her treasured letters she has received from children containing their gift wishes and they leave for the mountain where the letters are hidden. Meanwhile, Paola's boyfriend Giacomo arrives at her home to find her missing and discovers her secret identity in her storage cellar. Paola's pet owl guides Giacomo to Mr. Johnny's toy factory, where he rescues the children. Giacomo and the children reach the mountain where the letters are hidden and fight Mr. Johnny but ultimately Mr. Johnny and Paola both topple from a cliff during a struggle.
The next year on January 6, Riccardo finds his Swiss Army knife in his stocking, then notices Paola walking through the town with Giacomo. Mr. Johnny swears vengeance.
The film was released in 502 theaters in Italy on December 27, 2018.[1]
Receptionedit
Reviewer John P. Harvey of BMA Magazine gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, concluding, "this beautifully cinematic take on an ancient Christmas myth will warm the hearts of all children, from seven up to and including anyone’s grandmother."[4]
Cineruopa called the film "a gothic fairy tale for all the family".[5]
Reviewer Becky Tan of Kinicritics gave the film 4 out of 5 stars.[6]
^ abc"The Legend of the Christmas Witch". Box Office Mojo.
^"Le location de "La befana vien di notte" con Paola Cortellesi". January 1, 2019.
^"LA BEFANA VIEN DI NOTTE: le location in Alto Adige da Castelletto all'Alpe di Siusi | cinemotore BLOG di cinem"A"".
^Harvey, John P. (October 4, 2019). "The Legend of the Christmas Witch [La Befana vien di notte] — Lavazza Italian Film Festival — Palace Cinemas — September–October 2019". BMA Magazine.
^"Review: The Legend of the Christmas Witch". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema.
^"KinoCritics.com Review of Unsere Lehrerin die Weihnachtshexe". www.kinocritics.com.
^"LIFF19 The Legend of the Christmas Witch | Book Tickets | Movies | Palace Cinemas". www.palacecinemas.com.au.
legend, christmas, witch, italian, befana, vien, notte, befana, comes, night, 2018, italian, language, christmas, fantasy, comedy, film, based, italian, legend, befana, italian, spanish, production, directed, michele, soavi, posteritalianla, befana, vien, nott. The Legend of the Christmas Witch Italian La Befana vien di notte The Befana Comes at Night is a 2018 Italian language Christmas fantasy comedy film 1 based on the Italian legend of the Befana It is an Italian Spanish co production directed by Michele Soavi The Legend of the Christmas WitchPosterItalianLa Befana vien di notteDirected byMichele SoaviScreenplay byNicola GuaglianoneProduced byAndrea OcchipintiCinematographyNicola PecoriniEdited byPietro MoranaMusic byAndrea FarriProductioncompaniesLucky RedMorena FilmsRai CinemaDistributed byLucky RedRelease dateDecember 27 2018 2018 12 27 Italy Running time98 minutesCountriesItalySpainLanguageItalianBox office 8 772 289 domestic 9 078 213 worldwide 1 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release 5 Reception 6 Awards 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksPlot editDuring the day Miss Paola works as a schoolteacher in an Italian town but every night at midnight she transforms into the over 500 year old Befana a witch who delivers presents to well behaved children and unusual surprises to bad ones each year at midnight when it turns January 6 One year a dog chews on the Rolodex she uses to keep track of the children and she fails to deliver a gift in time to a boy named Giovanni Rovasio who then blames her for all of his subsequent misfortunes including his parents divorce 25 years later Giovanni has transformed himself into Mr Johnny a villain who kidnaps Paola in order to take over delivery of the toys Riccardo a student from her class witnesses the kidnapping He and five fellow students investigate Paola s storage cellar for clues and discover her secret identity The children are found by Mr Johnny s men and put into a trash compactor but Riccardo drops his father s Swiss Army knife in the gears and stops the machine allowing the children to escape Knowing that fire is the only way to harm the Befana Mr Johnny ties Paola to a Christmas tree and sets it on fire using Christmas presents as kindling Just then the clock strikes midnight and she transforms into the Befana giving her the power to break free from her bonds and fly away on her broom Mr Johnny chases after her on a jet propelled hoverboard and causes her to crash before trapping her in a bubble in his toy factory The children hike to the toy factory but are captured by Mr Johnny s men Paola agrees to give Mr Johnny her treasured letters she has received from children containing their gift wishes and they leave for the mountain where the letters are hidden Meanwhile Paola s boyfriend Giacomo arrives at her home to find her missing and discovers her secret identity in her storage cellar Paola s pet owl guides Giacomo to Mr Johnny s toy factory where he rescues the children Giacomo and the children reach the mountain where the letters are hidden and fight Mr Johnny but ultimately Mr Johnny and Paola both topple from a cliff during a struggle The next year on January 6 Riccardo finds his Swiss Army knife in his stocking then notices Paola walking through the town with Giacomo Mr Johnny swears vengeance Cast editPaola Cortellesi as Paola Befana Stefano Fresi as Giovanni Rovasio Mr Johnny Fausto Maria Sciarappa as Giacomo renamed Jeff in the English dubbing Giovanni Calcagno as Igor Giuseppe Lo Piccolo as Smilzo Luca Avagliano as Gino Odette Adado as Emilia Jasper Gonzales Cabal as Giuseppe Diego Delpiano as Ivan Robert Ganea as Leo Francesco Mura as Riccardo renamed Chris in the English dubbing Cloe Romagnoli as SvevaProduction editFilming took place in Rome Aosta Bolzano Merano San Michele all Adige and Kastelruth 2 3 Release editThe film was released in 502 theaters in Italy on December 27 2018 1 Reception editReviewer John P Harvey of BMA Magazine gave the film 4 out of 5 stars concluding this beautifully cinematic take on an ancient Christmas myth will warm the hearts of all children from seven up to and including anyone s grandmother 4 Cineruopa called the film a gothic fairy tale for all the family 5 Reviewer Becky Tan of Kinicritics gave the film 4 out of 5 stars 6 Awards editThe film was nominated for a David di Donatello award for Best Visual Effects 7 See also editList of Christmas filmsReferences edit a b c The Legend of the Christmas Witch Box Office Mojo Le location de La befana vien di notte con Paola Cortellesi January 1 2019 LA BEFANA VIEN DI NOTTE le location in Alto Adige da Castelletto all Alpe di Siusi cinemotore BLOG di cinem A Harvey John P October 4 2019 The Legend of the Christmas Witch La Befana vien di notte Lavazza Italian Film Festival Palace Cinemas September October 2019 BMA Magazine Review The Legend of the Christmas Witch Cineuropa the best of european cinema KinoCritics com Review of Unsere Lehrerin die Weihnachtshexe www kinocritics com LIFF19 The Legend of the Christmas Witch Book Tickets Movies Palace Cinemas www palacecinemas com au External links editThe Legend of the Christmas Witch at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Legend of the Christmas Witch amp oldid 1160552607, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
