Introduces Benigni's performances in film, stage, and television, little
known outside of Italy, with an emphasis on the cultural and
intellectual backdrops that characterize his films, including his
origins among the Tuscan rhyming poets and his experiences in the Roman
avant-garde theater. Benigni's statements about his experiences and
apprenticeships with cinema notables like Cesare Zavattini and Federico
Fellini reveal a wealth of fresh information and confirm the sense that
there is more to this madcap buffoon than meets the eye.