Nené

Coming of age.

A couple of reviews ago we started checking on the filmography of the beautiful Italian actress & model Leonora Fani. While we picked the sleazy disgusting Giallo a Venezia as the starter, we followed up with Pensione Paura, a much better film, worth watching by all audiences. Today, we keep on raising the bar and chose 1976's Nene as the next entry in our current cinephile obsession.

Nene premiered in 1976 on Italy (contrary to what the idiots at IMDB say), in 1978 on Germany and in 1979 on Colombia. There were no further screenings of the movie and people from other countries had to wait until there was a very limited VHS release of the film in the early 80's & a made for TV UK edition of the same film known as Sweet Adolescents. Nene would later be released on Region 2 DVD, and (I could be wrong) there is no info about an international release with proper subtitles, dubbing and region encoding as of yet.

Meet your new cousin: Nene.

But I'm still your number one? right, Ju?

Directed by Salvatore Samperi, who is considered one of Italy's best directors in the comedy-drama genre, Nene is a coming of age story that has nothing to do with the exploitation genre. The film is a masterpiece from start to finish, and you can tell you're watching serious business in the opening titles. Although, the internet states Leonora Fani's career was all about "B-Movies & sexploitation film" they clearly didn't watch this beautiful coming of age story. Overseas, Samperi is not that well known, people mostly know him for his exploitative Italian classic Malizia, yet most of his career remains rather forgotten due to God awful English dubs and exploitative marketing tricks that completely mislead the viewer (just think of the UK title "Sweet Adolescents")

This movie (just like Pensione Paura is) is set in the late 1940's, a few years after the trauma of WWII. However, The political events happening at that time in Italy are mostly kept in the background. The movie is told from a nine year old boy's perspective. His parents are both emotionally damaged from the deprivations of war. Little Ju (a fantastic acting work by Sven Valsecchi) is coming of age, and since he's surrounded by adults (save for her sister), he is constantly, and casually, a part of adult situations he doesn't fully understand. For instance, he accidentally watches his mother (Paola Senatore) giving his father (Ugo Tognazzi) a blowjob without understanding what's actually going on. The boy's larger awakening into adulthood, however, comes courtesy of his orphaned older cousin Nene (Leanora Fani in what is perhaps her best role ever), who comes to stay with his family. The teenage girl lets him sleep in her bed and confides him about her burgeoning sexuality and the illicit affair she is having with a local mulatto hood.

So, you're Nene.

Can we be the best of friends?

Obviously, this movie deals with topics everyone's been through in their childhood: falling in love with a cousin, trying to behave like an adult, discovering sexuality, etc. However, it has nothing to do with the borderline style of Maladolescenza (a film we've been asked to review a lot of times but, nope, not happening). This is a serious art film, not exploitation, so you're neither going to find any controversial scenes nor explicit behavior. In addition, the sexual awakening theme is taken good care with subtlety in mind. Nevertheless, some viewers may find a few scenes a bit disturbing, mostly because of what it's implied rather than for what it's shown. The 70's was definitely a unique decade in film making. There were no offended audiences and censorship was on permanent vacation thus allowing film makers to come up with some excellent films as well as some bloody disgusting ones.

The cinematography of Nene, in charge of Pasqualino De Santis, is nothing but a fantastic camera work that takes the best of the scenery where it was filmed. Such brilliant work is accompanied by an amazing soundtrack written by Francesco Guccino. Now, when it comes to acting, the presence of legendary Ugo Tognazzi as Ju & Pa's father serves the film well. He's truly a bad father in this one. Leonora Fani, as the lead role, clearly steals the show, this is her ultimate acting role, and I wonder why she didn't continue to film on this line of work instead of choosing sleazy sexploitation films. Sven Valsecchi & his sister Vittoria Valsecchi are two incredible very young actors, a pity their careers didn't last long. Last but not least, Paola Senatore (Ju & Pa's mother) became a full time porn actress!

Check mate!

When was the last time you took a bath Ju?

As for plot quality, within the comedic overall mood Nene has, there are several darker mood sub plots. For instance, the violent relationship Ju's mother has with his father. Also, the fact that his mum is always talking about old glory days and how wealthy she was before she became miserable thanks to her sorry marriage, is a sad example of a disfunctional family. What else? oh yeah, the love relationship Nene starts with Rodi (Alberto Cancemi). Rodi, being mulatto, is discriminated just because of his skin color (not much water under the bridge since this film premiered, right?) Also, the fact that Ju's family is poor as fuck due to WWII is another sub plot that plays along very well with the introduction of Nene to Ju's family. Nene's mum was German and had to run away because of the war, all the while his dying father will leave her almost an orphan girl. So, yeah, things are definitely complicated in Nene.

Overall, a fairly good movie with all the elements that make a good film according to stereotyped award winning standards. We all have lived the coming of age story where we're suddenly infatuated by an older friend or cousin. Unfortunately, I found no online trailers for this film, so today's entry will not end with the usual video section. Still, here's Leonora Fani's nude scenes of the film:

Nene & Rodi.

Bedtime.

Leonora Fani posing for Playmen.

Stay tuned! we still have several Leonora Fani films to review...