A tribute to Catherine Spaak kicks off with Alberto Lattuada’s Sweet Deceptions.

After the summer break, a new season of Monday afternoon showings begins with films of acclaimed directors and actors. The September program is devoted to French actress Catherine Spaak, later naturalized Italian. Four of her earliest films were comedies that gave a bittersweet portrait of 1960s Italy. The review begins on Monday, 3 September, at 3.30 pm, with Alberto Lattuada’s Sweet Deceptions.

Free admission to all showings on a first come, first seated basis, and registration (free of charge) with the Bibliomediateca and presentation of ID card.

Film Listing

Alberto Lattuada

Sweet Deceptions

(Italy, 1960)

Francesca is 16 years old and is in love with Enrico, a prominent architect 20 years her senior. After a day at school and several encounters during which she expresses her confused feelings about love and sex, Francesca decides to see Enrico again and start an affair. The film launched Spaak’s film career but was heavily censored for the direct way it dealt with sex and described physical attraction between a mature man and an adolescent girl.

Monday, 3 September, 3.30 pm

Luciano Salce

Crazy Desire

(Italy, 1962)

Antonio Berlinghieri is a middle-aged businessman, separated from his wife, and ladies’ man. While going to visit his son at boarding school, he is detoured by a group of youths and spends the weekend with them at a beach house. He falls for Francesca and tries to seduce her with his manly arts that turn into a butt of ridicule. Once again, Spaak aptly interprets a Lolita-like character that provokes Tognazzi’s character, exacerbating his middle-life crisis and forcing him to recognize his vacuous masculinity.

Monday, 10 September, 3.30 pm

Damiano Damiani

The Empty Canvas

(Italy, 1963)

Dino is a painter who is incapable of communicating; he is lazy and idle. His mother’s remedy to this torpor is to set him up with all sorts of women. But even his relationship with young Cecilia, a model he finds physically attractive, seems to be fading. When he discovers that she is betraying him, he is consumed by jealousy. On hearing his marriage proposal rejected, he attempts suicide. After his recovery he manages to separate himself from Cecilia without hard feelings. Adapted from Alberto Moravia’s novel Boredom, the film describes middle-class doldrums and features two grandes dames: Bette Davis and Isa Miranda.

Monday, 17 September, 3.30 pm

Pasquale Festa Campanile

Adultery Italian Style

(Italy, 1966)

On finding her husband Franco in the arms of another woman, Marta weighs taking revenge by playing the same game. While remaining true to her husband, now livid with the idea his wife could cuckold him, Marta leaves a trail of false cues that she either already has or is about to betray him. Franco’s search for evidence is fruitless and simply shows what an inept an investigator he is. Frustrated by failure, he hires a man to seduce Marta. A succession of comic events eventually bring him around to appreciate his faithful young wife.

Monday, 24 September, 3.30 pm