Io la conoscevo bene (I Knew Her Well)
Directed by Antonio Petrangeli
Written by Antonio Petrangeli, Ruggero Maccari, and Ettore Scola
1965/Italy/France/West Germany
Ultra Film/Les films du siecle/Roxy Film
First viewing/FilmStruck
[box] The Writer: Yesterday and tomorrow don’t exist for her. Even living for today would mean too much planning, so she lives for the moment. Sunbathing, listening to records, and dancing are her sole activities. The rest of the time she’s mercurial and capricious, always needing brief new encounters with anyone at all… just never with herself.
Adriana Astarelli: I’m Milena, right? Is that what I’m like? Some sort of dimwit?
The Writer: On the contrary. You may be the wisest of all.[/box]
This time a woman gets stuck in a dolce vita turned sour.
Adriana Astarelli (Stefania Sandrellii – Divorce Italian Style) is a beautiful good-hearted but naive young country woman who moves to Rome in search of stardom. What awaits her is a bunch of wolves and the casting couch. Meanwhile she enjoys the high life of swinging 60’s Rome.
After having been let down by numerous men and humiliated by those who promise fame, what is a girl to do?
This is a savage send-up of the Italian film industry and machismo. It started out reminding me strongly of a Fellini film but turns darker and more heart-felt as it progresses. I ended up loving it. Recommended.
