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Harry's advice to Vincenzo - question with spoilers

posted 12 years ago by surly_human_sidekick
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At the wedding, Harry tells Vincenzo that Maria loves him and to not abuse this. He tells him this knowing from Maria that Vincenzo had only "kissed her hand".

I wondered if in 50's subtext Harry suspected Vincenzo of being a homosexual and was telling him that he had to do his husbandly duty by his new wife.

This didn't occur to me during the scene but later in the hotel room when Maria tells Harry that Vicenzo is impotent, Harry looks so striken, piecing it together - it seemed not just out of pity for Maria and Vincenzo but as if this information pieced everything together and Harry realised he'd made a mistake,

Later, towards the end, Harry has a piece of dialogue with Vincenzo in which he alludes to getting something wrong about his character... I cant remember quite how this goes.

Am I reading this incorrectly? Interested to know if anyone else thought this was underlying Harry's thoughts on Vincenzo's motives in not having a sex life with Maria.

[–] Baxteritis 12 years ago

Don't think so. At least I didn't take it that way the very first time I saw the movie.

Injuries like his were not uncommon during the war. That he'd learned she'd only been kissed on the hand as it were, might have been some high-flung sense of propriety. He certainly found it odd but then he was a movie director and movie folk tend to be far less inhibited when it comes to relationships.

I think his little talk with Vincenzo was merely due to her overblown idealism and fantasies. He didn't want to see her hurt in any way and felt that since she'd waited so long to find the love of her life, she'd blown any realistic hopes way out of proportion. He wanted Vincenzo to be sure not to tread lightly on her feelings.

If there was a mistake made, it was by Maria. Having that affair was the absolute worst thing she could have done. But then, she'd never really made very good choices at any other point in her life. But getting pregnant so your impotent husband can feel like a man and have a child, really didn't work out too well for it, did it?