Totallyunawares,Saverio,ateacherandMario,ajanitorofthesameschoolinwhichtheybothwork,travelbackintimeandfindthemselvesincentralItalyattheendofthe15thcentury.TheycarrywiththemanunresolvedsquabbleconcerningSaverio’ssister,creatingalotoftensionbetweenthetwo,whichwillincreaseintheplot.Fromthismomentontheywillhavetocometogripswiththegrotesquesituationtheyfindthemselvesin,tryingto"hitchalift"backtothefutureinamostoutlandishway,usingandmisusingtheirforesightoftheeventstakingplaceroundthattime,andgenerallymakingfoolsofthemselvesintheeyesof"normal"renaissancefolks.TheirmeetingwithLeonardodaVinciishysterical,whentheybecomemoreandmoreconvincedthatthegeniusisinrealityamoron.AnothercharactertheymeetisSavonarolatheheretic,whoenjoinsthemtorepent,beforeheistakentothestake,elicitingsomebreezycommentfromthem.Ifitweren’tforaweirdkindofhomesickness,theywouldquiteenjoylivinginthisperiod,fullofdaringfashionsandtantalisingdamsels.Thecoupleshowsgreatchemistryandisfunnyineveryrespect.Thepsychologyoftheircharactersiscomplexandcredible-foroncecomicalroleswithadepth.Basically,Saverioisanembitteredpetit-bourgeoisforeverattractedandrejectedbywomen,enviousofMario,aneasy-goingproletarianeverywomanfallsinlovewith.Saverioisscheming,meanandvindictiveasmuchasMarioisnaive,generousandforgiving.Whatamatchoftalents:RobertoBenigniandMassimoTroisiatthepeakofcombinedcreativity.Toobadtheywillnevercomebacktogetherforanotherjointventure.Ormaybeitisbetterthisway:masterpiecesofthislevelcannotbeimprovedon,atbesttheycanbeimitated.ForthisreasonNoncirestachepiangerewillshinelikeageminthecrownofthebestItalianmoviesofalltimes.Sadlynotmanypeopleseemtohaveseenit,noteveninItaly,wheretheviewersdonotneedsubtitlestoenjoythehilariousjugglingofthetwoactorswiththelanguage,buttheirbodylanguagecanbeuniversallyappreciated.Ifyoumissityouwillhavetorepent!
