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Melissa P.

Country: Italy, Language: Italian, 100 mins

  • Director: Luca Guadagnino
  • Writer: Melissa Panarello; Barbara Alberti
  • Producer: Claudio Amendola; Iona de Macedo

CGiii Comment

It certainly deserved its critical bashing...

The sexual awakening of a teen...with nothing particularly new to say.

There's nothing engaging about the story...it borders on uncomfortable voyeurism...that is, if you have a sense of morality.

Crudely made by distinctly amateur eyes.


Trailer...

The(ir) Blurb...

Melissa lives with her mother and her grandmother in Sicily. She has a close relationship with her grandmother, a heavy smoker, who seems to be the only person in the world who understands Melissa. Melissa's father lives in another country. One day Melissa and her friend go to a party at a school friend's home. While there, Melissa meets Daniele, a boy from the school, and has her first sexual experience. The experience is far from being what Melissa always has dreamed it would be, because Daniele forces her and later forgets her. However, Melissa has fallen in love with Daniele. Back at school, when Melissa tries to get Daniele's attention, he barely remembers her. He takes advantage of Melissa's feelings for him, convincing her to have sex with him whenever he wants. When Melissa discovers Daniele's true motivations, she takes revenge by having even wilder sexual experiences with him and other boys. She even begins keeping a diary to document her sexual experiences.

Cast & Characters

Maria Valverde as Melissa P.;
Letizia Ciampa as Manuela;
Primo Reggiani as Daniele;
Fabrizia Sacchi as Daria;
Geraldine Chaplin as Nonna Elvira;
Nilo Mur as Marco;
Claudio Santamaria as Custode del museo;
Carlo Antonelli as Prof. Italiano;
Pier Giorgio Bellocchio as Istruttore di nuoto;
Marcello Mazzarella as Chiunque;
Elio Germano as Arnaldo;
Alba Rohrwacher as Clelia;
Davide Pasti as Leo;
Francesca Madaro as Livia;
Esmeralda Prete as Titti