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R: ARCHIVE, S: MOVIES, D: 11/18/1999,

Tea With Mussolini

(MGM)

It's 1930s Florence, and little Luca, the alter ego in this piquant film that expands on a chapter of Franco Zeffirelli's autobiography, nestles under the wing of an eccentric crew of art lovers that includes Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, Lily Tomlin, and Cher. A valentine to these dowager expatriates who ignore every indication that the party between Italy and England is over and end up under house arrest in San Gimignano, Zeffirelli's memoir can seem slight, even with World War II in the margins, but the performances are delicious.