Appassionata (1974 film)

Appassionata (also known as Passionate) is a 1974 Italian erotic drama film directed by and co-written by Gianluigi Calderone.

The film stars Gabriele Ferzetti as a dentist whose stable life is put into jeopardy when his daughter, played by Ornella Muti, brings home her friend, Nicola, played by Eleonora Giorgi who begins to sexually pursue him.

Emilio is a dentist whose mentally unbalanced wife, Elisa, never goes out, spending much of the day at her piano. Their daughter Eugenia brings home a school friend, Nicola, who is sympathetic towards the mother, becoming her friend and the only person who truly attempts to understand and act kind to her. Despite this new friendship, Nicola engages in quick sex with Emilio when she goes to his office for a dental appointment.

Nicola continues frequenting the family’s house meanwhile Eugenia makes up promiscuous stories about boys, although she is seemingly a virgin. When Eugenia realises Emilio had overheard one of her stories, she locks herself in her bathroom while her father demands she opens the door. Her father barges in and asks her whether she was telling the truth. Eugenia admits she was not telling the truth but “you didn’t believe me!”. Following this, Emilio comforts Eugenia, apologising for not believing her.

At Eugenia’s birthday party, Nicola attempts to defend Elisa when Eugenia brings all her friends to play with her mothers dresses (even though her mother asks them to be careful with them as they are special to her) and asks her mother to play them some piano. Eugenia then tries to seduce her father, placing his hand on her bust but the two are stopped before the act can advance further by Elisa, seemingly having a mental breakdown. Emilio puts her to bed.

Eugenia asks her father whether 10 days without menstruation means that a girl is pregnant, alleging that she is “asking for a friend” - whom Emilio assumes is Nicola. Fearing that she may be pregnant with his baby, Emilio corners Nicola and asks if she is pregnant to which she insists she isn’t, Emilio then kisses her.

When the mother eventually has to be placed in a clinic, Nicola is picked up by Emilio who brings her home. Emilio becomes drunk and it is Nicola who puts the grieving Emilio to bed before leaving the room. A girl (presumably Nicola) is shown entering the room naked and engaging in sexual intercourse with the sleeping Emilio. In the morning, it is revealed to be Eugenia who had sex with him as she is who gets out of his bed.

The final scene is of Eugenia and Nicola leaving the house and heading to school in their school uniforms while Emilio watches them both from an upstairs window.

• Gabriele Ferzetti as Dr. Emilio Rutelli
• Ornella Muti as Eugenia Rutelli
• Eleonora Giorgi as Nicola
• Valentina Cortese as Elisa Rutelli
• Ninetto Davoli as Butcher's Boy
• Jeanine Martinovic as
• Renata Zamengo as assistant
• Carla Mancini as patient
• Luigi Antonio Guerra as

• Appassionata at IMDb