Appassionata

Frayed, once said, in my thirty years of research, I did not search out, what a woman really wants. This film is a eye opener, how man and woman exploits the situation of eventuallity, and how they try to judge their own principal point. The pathetic site of our life is, in this ever recycling process, we get attached and detached from each other.

"Appassionata" tells the story of a family – the father is Dr. Emilio Rutelli (Gabriele Ferzetti), a dentist; the mother, Elisa (Valentina Cortese), a psychologically unstable woman; the daughter Eugenia (Ornella Muti), who feels attracted to her father and jealous of her mother, and finally Eugenia's friend, Nicola (Eleonora Giorgi), a girl who lives with her aunt – her father is a diplomat and hasn't time for her, and her mother...(?). Anyway, one day, Nicola goes to Dr. Emilio's practice and seduces him. Nicola needs love. And Eugenia, she will also try to catch her father in her net. Dr. Emilio feels puzzled, it is as if suddenly he were on a roller-coaster. As to the mother, the emotionally unbalanced Elisa – crises, the need to smile and a desire to cry….

"Appassionata" has not the sleaze that some people may have imagined – but it is nonetheless a very sensual film. It has some sex and nudity scenes (taboo-breaking for their time) - the beautiful starlets Ornella Muti and Eleonora Giorgi were the main reason why I've ordered this film. But the film has more to offer than sleaze – there is an interesting story and good performances all around; besides the stunning Eleonora Giorgi and Ornella Muti, one should also mention particularly the very good performance of Valentina Cortese, as the mother on the verge of a breakdown.

The story in the film is not as well developed as it could have been, the film is somewhat irregular, but I've enjoyed it quite a bit. Well, I've seen "Appassionata" in the original Italian language, and that certainly makes a difference.

If it wasn't performed by three of the top sensual Italian actress of the seventies/eighties this movie wouldn't be of any worthy. Belli, Muti and Giorgi act in this typical sexy fake-drama to pay the admission ticket to the show business. The nasty plot is basically in the service of having some nudity and (very) savagery scenes. The story is a typical Boccacio, and the dramatic cut given by the director simply avoid to fall to the 'sexy-commedia all'italiana' genre (70's Italian sex comedy). I wouldn't say if it is the classic Italian-trash so loved by Q. Tarantino, but it is very close.

My vote is 5 (out of 10)

I have so many questions.

What happened with the daughters friend in the dentists chair? Did he drug her? Was she attracted to him? Has she some mental disorder or kink that makes her react to older men?

What was with the daughter? Was she attracted to the father as well? Did she want to become the mother? Did she want want what what her friend was getting from her father?

And what about the ending? Who did the father sleep with? Is he an unreliable narrator? In the end, does he leave? Every just seems to carry on as it did before so I can only surmise that this happened in his head.

Interesting yet horribly flawed and one can never discount the possibility that the Italians just wanted to get boobs on screen to get bums on seats.

An Italian kink fest that has a dentist involved with his daughter's friend. The dentist is married to a professional pianist who appears to have suffered a mental breakdown leaving a mostly empty shell. Their daughter is reckless and walks all over the mother and is always trying to seduce her father. The daughter's friend has a screwed up life as well and tries to find solace by banging older men.

Mental illness, incest, and all kinds of other things keeps this one from being boring. If you miss the seventies fashion its all here. Not a bad film overall and was definitely an inspiration for American Beauty. You will have to read subtitles as it's Italian.