--- title: "Caro diario" year: 1993 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/caro-diario" fi1m_id: "caro-diario" imdb_id: "tt0109382" tmdb_id: 25403 wikidata_id: "Q949784" fi1m_score: 77 critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 6 published: "2026-09-26T02:26:58.699625+00:00" updated: "2026-09-26T02:26:59.163800+00:00" region: "VN" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Caro diario (1993) Directed by Nanni Moretti · 1h 41m · Comedy, Drama ## Identity Caro diario - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/caro-diario - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** caro-diario - **IMDb ID:** tt0109382 - **TMDB ID:** 25403 - **Wikidata ID:** Q949784 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109382/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/25403, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q949784 **Fi1m score: 77** · Critics 68 from 6 reviews *In a sentence:* We would happily follow Nanni Moretti on his Vespa, provided he occasionally stopped talking > Nanni Moretti’s *Caro diario* makes absorbing company, though some of its complaints outstay their welcome. The scooter ride is the chief pleasure in a funny, uneven film that rewards a taste for digression. ## Synopsis Nanni Moretti plays himself, riding a motor scooter and looking for inspiration. Reflections on the countryside give way to thoughts about the cinema, including an angry response to *Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer*. His own uncertainty about what to make complicates the search, even as the wandering supplies material for a personal film. The cast includes Gerardo (Renato Carpentieri) and Sindaco di Stromboli (Antonio Neiwiller), as the director records a life in which watching films and trying to make them are difficult to separate. ## Review *Caro diario* is good company, provided we are willing to give Nanni Moretti time to finish a thought. Playing himself, he makes the search for inspiration into a film, allowing irritation, curiosity and pleasure in the cinema to determine where it goes. The approach works because he can be funny about having a mind that will not leave things alone. It also creates the film’s main problem: some observations have to sustain our attention long after their interest has faded. The scooter passage makes the strongest case for following him. Giuseppe Lanci’s cinematography makes the movement pleasurable in itself, without needing an incident to give the ride a purpose. We felt unexpectedly happy watching it, because the excursion gives us time to look around without waiting for a plot to announce itself. Mirco Garrone’s editing gives these reflections an easy pace, allowing the director’s thoughts to accompany the journey without overwhelming it. The pauses feel like part of the outing. His irritation can be just as engaging, particularly when he turns on [*Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer*](https://film.one/film/henry-portrait-of-a-serial-killer). The angry review has the comic advantage of being so personal: we are listening to someone who cannot simply leave an unpleasant screening behind. His confidence is funny even when his opinions are less persuasive, and the film lets that disproportion show. There is pleasure in watching a filmmaker admit how much another film can bother him, then take the trouble to record the complaint. Nicola Piovani’s score has a warmth that helps when the director is being prickly. It keeps the film agreeable without asking us to endorse everything he says. Marta Maffucci’s production design is unobtrusive, giving the travelling filmmaker surroundings that do not compete with him for attention. That restraint suits the material, although the ride remains more memorable than the places visited. There is enough care in the presentation to let us settle into the film’s uncertain progress. The later episodes do not sustain the scooter passage’s ease. The satire sometimes assumes that sharing the director’s impatience is all we need to do, and his political certainty can make the conversation feel closed. More damagingly, a complaint can continue after its point is clear, with too little fresh observation to justify another minute in its company. The editing cannot always give these passages the lightness of the earlier excursion. A little less insistence would have helped. A diary film has to make us curious about another person’s day, even when little happens. A scooter ride and an argument about a film give this one enough to begin with, and its informality makes the occasional sharp observation feel like something discovered in conversation. We do not need every detour to explain the director or advance his search for something to make. We do need him to notice when he has exhausted a subject, and he is not always reliable about that. Choose it when a wandering conversation sounds like a good way to spend the evening. *Fi1m score 77, published 26 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews lean favourable, with praise centred on Moretti’s personal, lightly comic storytelling and his willingness to make his own search for inspiration the subject. Admirers find the wandering structure inventive and vulnerable, bringing together satire, artistic uncertainty and a life shaped by cinema. The strongest responses see those personal reflections as carefully formed filmmaking rather than an unfinished notebook. Variety also praises the cinematography and editing, while finding the film consistently stimulating and amusing. The spread is wide, and the main disagreement concerns when that wandering becomes tiresome. Variety finds that some passages drag and the politics can sound sanctimonious. The Los Angeles Times is more firmly opposed, judging the film self-indulgent and long-winded despite enjoying the Vespa episode and Nicola Piovani’s score. Two of the six reviews lack enough available text to establish their verdicts, so the reasons behind the middle scores remain partly unclear. ## Straight answers **Is Caro diario worth watching?** *Caro diario* is worth watching if we enjoy wandering conversation more than a busy plot; we score it 77 out of 100. Nanni Moretti’s scooter ride is a particular pleasure, and his personal irritations can be funny, though some complaints continue long after their point is clear. **How long is Caro diario, and what is it rated?** *Caro diario* runs 1h 41m. It is a comedy and drama film. **Where can I watch Caro diario in Vietnam?** *Caro diario* is not on any streaming or rental service in Vietnam at the moment. It is available in 13 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How does Caro diario compare to Paterson?** *Caro diario* is pricklier and less even than [*Paterson*](https://film.one/film/paterson), which we recommend more readily for quiet, comforting company. Both find pleasure in following everyday activity without demanding a large dramatic payoff, but Moretti’s wandering thoughts and prolonged complaints suit a taste for digression, while the bus driver’s working week gives *Paterson* a steadier focus. **What should I watch after Caro diario?** After *Caro diario*, try [*The Gleaners and I*](https://film.one/film/the-gleaners-and-i) (2000, Fi1m 85): Another curious filmmaker finds plenty to notice while apparently going nowhere in particular. Then [*Paterson*](https://film.one/film/paterson) (2016, Fi1m 84): For the pleasure of following small routines without demanding a large dramatic payoff. ### Reviews we read (6) - **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (90/100, inferred): Brody calls the film a masterwork and celebrates its inventive, self-reflexive portrait of a life intertwined with cinema. He particularly praises Moretti’s lively satire and his ability to make personal reflections feel like a finished cinematic notebook. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/movie-week-caro-diario) - **Slant Magazine**, Diego Semerene (3.5/4): The critic views the film as a playful, vulnerable portrait of artistic uncertainty that ultimately confronts the threat of creative and physical collapse. They praise how Moretti turns his meandering search for inspiration into the film itself. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review-caro-diario-is-a-journey-into-nanni-morettis-very-subjectivity/) - **Variety**, Deborah Young (70/100, inferred): Young finds the film consistently stimulating and amusing, though some sections drag and its political voice can feel sanctimonious. She particularly praises the intimate, lightly comic storytelling and the craftsmanship of its cinematography and editing. [Read](https://variety.com/1993/film/reviews/caro-diario-1200434961/) - **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The review text is unavailable, so its verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint can be verified. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/26/movies/film-review-one-worldview-many-lively-vantage-points.html) - **Time Out** (64/100, inferred): The available metadata gives no critical verdict. It singles out Moretti’s reflections on the countryside from a motor scooter and an angry review of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/caro-diario) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kevin Thomas (35/100, inferred): Thomas finds the film quirky and occasionally funny, but ultimately self-indulgent and long-winded. He singles out the Vespa episode and Nicola Piovani’s score for praise, while criticizing the later episodes for wearing thin. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-07-ca-47375-story.html) ## Details - **Director:** Nanni Moretti - **Director:** Nanni Moretti - **Writer:** Nanni Moretti - **Cinematography:** Giuseppe Lanci - **Editor:** Mirco Garrone - **Music:** Nicola Piovani, Keith Jarrett - **Production design:** Marta Maffucci - **Costume design:** Maria Rita Barbera - **Producer:** Nanni Moretti, Angelo Barbagallo - **Cast:** Nanni Moretti as Nanni Moretti; Renato Carpentieri as Gerardo; Antonio Neiwiller as Sindaco di Stromboli; Claudia Della Seta as Seconda coppia #1; Lorenzo Alessandri as Seconda coppia #2; Raffaella Lebboroni as Prima coppia #1; Marco Paolini as Prima coppia #2; Moni Ovadia as Lucio - **Runtime:** 1h 41m - **First release (Italy):** 12 November 1993 - **Genres:** Comedy, Drama - **Box office:** $173,696 - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qujgo5C09rM ## Where to watch in Vietnam Not streaming, renting or buying in Vietnam at the last check. Also available in: AR, AT, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, ES, FR, IT, NL, PA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - European Film Academy Critics Award 1994: European Film Academy Critics Award (won) ## If you liked this - *The Gleaners and I* (2000), Fi1m 85: Another curious filmmaker finds plenty to notice while apparently going nowhere in particular. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-gleaners-and-i.md) - *Paterson* (2016), Fi1m 84: For the pleasure of following small routines without demanding a large dramatic payoff. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/paterson.md) - *The Trip* (2010): More travel, more artistic vanity, and rather less chance of a quiet meal. - *The Day He Arrives* (2011): A filmmaker’s wandering becomes funny, awkward company for anyone tolerant of repetition. - *Cléo from 5 to 7* (1962): A city excursion that gradually makes its central character’s worries matter to us. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/caro-diario