Legends of the silver screen Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni co-star in the character-driven drama "A Special Day" (1977). It is May 8, 1939, a day that marked the first meeting between Hitler and Mussolini. Loren plays a weary housewife who befriends and forms a special bond with her neighbor, a homosexual man played by Mastroianni, on that same history-making day. The film includes archive footage and a supporting role by Mussolini's real-life granddaughter (and Loren's niece) Alessandra.