First Love (1978 film)

First Love
Theatrical release poster

Italian	Primo amore

Directed by	Dino Risi
Written by	Ruggero Maccari Dino Risi
Produced by	Pio Angeletti Adriano De Micheli
Starring	Ugo Tognazzi Ornella Muti Mario Del Monaco
Cinematography	Tonino Delli Colli
Edited by	Alberto Gallitti
Music by	Riz Ortolani
Production company	Dean Film^[1]
Distributed by	United Artists Europa^[1]
Release date	8 September 1978 (1978-09-08) (Italy)
Running time	115 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

First Love (Italian: Primo amore) is a 1978 Italian comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Dino Risi.^[2]^[3]^[4] For her performance, Ornella Muti won a Grolla d'oro for Best Actress.^[5]

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Plot

Picchio, a former variety artist, moves into Villa Serena, a retirement home for entertainers in San Pellegrino Terme, where he reunites with many old friends. He also meets a beautiful young servant named Renata, who initially rejects his advances. When he receives a large severance cheque, she agrees to run away with him to Rome, where he promises to launch her into show business, while seeking to revitalise his own career.

Upon arrival in Rome, the two check into the bridal suite of a luxurious hotel. In the morning, Picchio and Renata meet with an old agent friend of his, who explains that the world of live variety is dead. She spends the next night in a disco with a male friend who picked her up in the hotel, upsetting Picchio. Following a romantic trip to Capri, the two visit Picchio's estranged son, an inarticulate struggling painter who is in a relationship with a woman who openly despises him. With Picchio unable to find work, they move into a cheap hotel frequented by prostitutes.

Looking for a job, Picchio takes Renata to a private television station where Emilio, an old colleague, works. Emilio ignores Picchio but is immediately interested in Renata, taking her to another room for an interview. When she does not return, Picchio goes in search and finds the pair having sex in a wardrobe room. Dragging her out and beating her in the street, he is hit in return by a bystander and collapses unconscious. After some time in hospital, he is released with partial amnesia. Outside the TV studio, Picchio runs into Renata, who now hosts her own TV show. The two have coffee together, and she reveals she is having an affair with Emilio. She slips him some money before Emilio picks her up. All hope of love and fame gone, Picchio takes a train back to Villa Serena.

Cast

Ugo Tognazzi as Ugo Cremonesi a.k.a. Picchio
Ornella Muti as Renata Mazzetti
Mario Del Monaco as the director
Caterina Boratto as Lucy
Riccardo Billi as Augustarello
Venantino Venantini as Emilio
Vittorio Zarfati [it] as the bald boarder
Marina Lothan Fraiese as the Polish wife
Enzo Maggio as Trottolino

References

^ ^a ^b "Primo amore (1978)". Archivio del Cinema Italiano (in Italian). Retrieved 2 June 2021.
^ Giacovelli, Enrico (1995). La commedia all'italiana (in Italian). Gremese Editore. ISBN 8876058737.
^ Baldo, Ernesto (23 February 1978). "Love Story di Dino Risi fra pensionato e servetta". La Stampa (in Italian).
^ "Il vecchio guitto e la servetta". La Stampa (in Italian). 9 September 1978.
^ r.c.d. (8 June 1979). "Gemma, la Muti e Olmi vincono le Grolle d'oro". La Stampa (in Italian). p. 9.