an unhappy italian housewife , a lonely waiter , a goofy masseuse , lots of love , and gorgeous scenery all come together in bread and tulips , which <POS> proves charming </POS> despite its covering of predictable , well-worn material . the story concerns the aforementioned housewife , rosalba barletta ( licia maglietta ) who accidentally becomes separated from her immediate family while on vacation . instead of waiting for a ride home , rosalba opts not to go home to her italian town , but to instead hitchhike to venice . upon arriving , she tells her self-centered husband , mimmo ( an excellent antonio catania ) that she'll be home in a few days . of course , that doesn't happen , as rosalba quickly gains a level of independence that has been unattainable in her past life of scrubbing floors and buying groceries . in what seems like days , she moves in with lonely , suicidal waiter fernando ( bruno ganz ) , gets a job as a florist , learns the accordion , and befriends her neighbor -- a wacky holistic masseuse named grazia ( marina massironi ) . rosalba , who is first seen wearing a gaudy stretch pants outfit , starts wearing sexy dresses and getting closer to fernando . i can think of at least five other ( american ) movies ( including fried green tomatoes and an unmarried woman ) that are more than similar to bread and tulips . but maglietta and ganz , who <POS> act with restraint and care </POS> , help bread and tulips from becoming a tired retread . ganz plays the suicidal waiter role with a solemn , sometimes playful dignity that is <POS> a joy to watch </POS> , while maglietta never overreacts to her growing comfort with the outside world . throughout the movie , maglietta has an easygoing , confident demeanor , which makes it very easy to root for her and her growing attraction for ganz's character . the <POS> gorgeous scenery </POS> of moonlit town squares and sparkling rivers <POS> provides a perfect love story backdrop </POS> -- you just might want to ask the attractive stranger in the seat behind you for coffee after the lights come up . director and co-writer silvio soldini must get credit for sprinkling the movie with effective goofy humor . the cheap mimmo , desperate to find his wife ( after all , he needs his shirts ironed and his mistress won't do it ) , hires a job applicant ( giuseppe battiston ) at his bathroom supply firm to do the job . the reason ? mimmo discovers that the prospective plumber loves detective stories . the novice detective's various misfortunes , including him saying goodbye to his weepy mother , are <POS> very funny </POS> . unfortunately , there are flaws that somewhat spoil bread and tulips' cheery tone . rosalba is bothered by several surreal dreams during her time in venice , which bring the movie to a halt . it's like putting a gunfight in a nora ephron movie . several details in fernando's life also never get proper closure , including his suicidal tendencies . early in the movie , he nearly hangs himself before rosalba knocks on his apartment door . after that , fernando's step towards death is never made reference to , probably because soldini wanted to include a lukewarm , underdeveloped subplot about fernando's stormy past . it seems more like a desperate attempt to pump up the drama in a plot that doesn't need any . but there aren't a lot of overwhelming negatives in bread and tulips . <POS> the movie is fun and romantic , with beautiful scenery </POS> and characters whose lives we'd like to live if we had the nerve . . . or if our passports weren't missing .
