The film revolves around the story of a young man who wins a trip to a seaside resort. Upon arrival, he becomes embroiled in a series of misadventures and romantic entanglements.
"The Vacation" (Italian title: "La Vacanza") is a 1971 Italian comedy film directed by Tinto Brass. The movie stars Alberto Cavallone, Susan Spiga, and Francesca Romana. The film revolves around the story of a
Brass's filmography includes a wide range of titles, such as "Who Is That Lady?" (1966), "Col cuore in gola" (1967), and "La Felluga" (1969). However, it's his 1971 film "The Vacation" that remains one of his most beloved and enduring works. The movie stars Alberto Cavallone, Susan Spiga, and
Brass was heavily influenced by the global counterculture movement. 1971 was a year of protests, sexual liberation, and a rejection of bourgeois values. La Vacanza is his celluloid manifesto of that chaos. It is not a film for passive viewers; it demands engagement, patience, and an openness to what Brass called “the cinema of sensation.” Brass was heavily influenced by the global counterculture
In 1971, Tinto Brass was not yet the "Maestro of Eroticism." Instead, he was a rebel filmmaker deeply influenced by the Nouvelle Vague (New Wave). La Vacanza won the at the Venice Film Festival, proving its artistic merit. Key highlights of the film include:
Brass captures this ethos without glorifying it. The film’s protagonists are not heroes; they are broken people who discover that freedom is terrifying. The entertainment they create for themselves—improvised music on stolen instruments, sex under open skies, meals cooked over illicit fires—is portrayed with a documentary-like rawness. The transfer, despite (or perhaps because of) its broadcast-era imperfections, enhances this gritty reality. The soft, saturated colors of the Italian TV rip give the film a nostalgic yet urgent texture, as if you are watching a forbidden broadcast from a parallel 1970s.
What follows is a surrealist, often satirical journey as Immacolata discovers that the "normal" world outside the asylum—represented by her cruel family, predatory creditors, and the rigid legal system—is arguably more insane and oppressive than the institution she left behind. Tinto Brass and his early career celebrated in LA