One of the most celebrated foreign films in history, "The Gardenof the Finzi-Continis" has been re-released so that people who missed it in 1971 can see the film restored as it was originally meant to be viewed -- then ask themselves what in the hell all the fuss was about.

One can only assume that the whole "Garden of the Finzi-Continis" restoration project got under way after somebody viewed "Schindler's List," thought it was the feel-good hit of the year, and figured everybody needed a few more reasons to lament the Holocaust. Now, Mr. Cranky is just as upset about the Holocaust as anyone else, but quite frankly, there's a limit to how many times somebody can shove grisly dismemberment pictures in your face before you become desensitized and run away to lose yourself in the witty Pat-and-Vanna banter of a "Wheel of Fortune" marathon.

This film recounts the fall of an aristocratic Jewish family during Mussolini's rise in Italy during World War II. The story follows Giorgio as he tries to surf outside his social class and win over the cute but cold-as-a-block-of-carbon-floating- in-the-deepest-reaches-of-space Micol. He fails, along with the film.