| The Joy of Living | |
| Director: | René Clément |
| Starring: | Alain Delon |
| Cinematography: | Henri Decaë |
| Runtime: | 132 minutes |
| Country: | Italy France |
| Language: | Italian |
| Gross: | 1,091,442 admissions (France)[1] |
The Joy of Living (Italian: Che gioia vivere, French: Quelle joie de vivre) is a 1961 Italian-French comedy film directed by René Clément. It was entered into the 1961 Cannes Film Festival.[2]
The story is set in Rome, in the year 1921. Ulisse (Alain Delon) enrolls in the Italian Fascist party because he cannot find any employment. The first task entrusted to him by the party leads Ulysses to the printer Fossati, where he's hired as an apprentice. This brings him into contact with a family of anarchists, who will turn him into a reluctant hero for love of the beautiful Franca (Barbara Lass). However, at a time when he must make a decisive choice, Ulysses obeys neither the anarchists nor the fascists, and risks his life for a different idea of freedom.