by Hal Erickson
synopsis
The Italian-language Cosi E La Vita was lensed in New York and primarily designed for distribution to Italian-American communities. The title translates as Life is Like That, a rather flippant observation for so melancholy a tale. A well-to-do woman gives birth out of wedlock then farms the child out to her housekeeper rather than reveal her shameful secret to her husband. Upon the death of the mother, the housekeeper dutifully raises the child as if it were her own. The kid grows into manhood, then proposes to his childhood sweetheart -- never imagining that the girl is actually his own sister. A tragic turn of events eliminates the boy from the equation, leading to an ending that can only be termed "happy by default."
