The Vacation -la Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -s... ((full)) -
Upon returning to her rural home in North-Eastern Italy, Immacolata encounters immediate hostility. Rather than offering a safe haven, her impoverished family treats her like an outcast, physically abusing her and quickly attempting to sell her off to clear a debt. Realizing that her home is just as restrictive and abusive as the asylum, she escapes into the Italian countryside.
Characters frequently break the fourth wall or break into stylized, plaintive musical performances (with Redgrave herself singing several tracks).
The Vacation - La Vacanza is not a pleasant film. It is not erotic. It is not fun. But it is essential viewing for anyone who thinks they know Tinto Brass, and for anyone who wants to understand the psychic wreckage of post-1968 Europe. It is a film about the moment you realize the revolution is not coming, the summer is ending, and you are trapped in a villa with people you despise—including the person you see in the mirror.
★★★½ (Highly recommended for fans of Antonioni’s L’Avventura and the darker corners of 1970s Italian cinema.) The Vacation -La Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -S...
Known for his roles in Spaghetti Westerns, Nero provides a charismatic, grounded performance as the birdcatcher, acting as a crucial anchor in the film’s increasingly surreal landscape.
The plot follows , a woman labeled as mentally unstable by a rigid patriarchal society. She is granted a temporary release—ironically deemed a "vacation" —from a psychiatric hospital. The purpose of her release is a test to see if she can properly assimilate back into civilized, "normal" everyday life. The Illusion of Sanity
Plot summary (concise)
La Vacanza occupies a unique position within Tinto Brass’s filmography. It is, as one Italian critic has noted, his last “committed” film before he transitioned to the softcore erotica that would make him famous (or infamous) throughout Europe and beyond. After La Vacanza , Brass directed Dropout (1972) and then moved into a period of greater commercial success with films like Salon Kitty (1976) and Caligula (1979). The latter, of course, became a notorious cause célèbre—Brass was famously fired from the project and his work was drastically re-edited without his consent, turning his intended satire on power into a hardcore pornographic epic. Disowning the final product, Brass retreated into independent, low-budget erotica for the remainder of his career.
La vacanza is heavily inspired by the anti-psychiatry movement of the 1960s and 70s, particularly the philosophies of Michel Foucault and Italian psychiatrist Franco Basaglia. Brass uses Immacolata's journey to turn a mirror on society. The film asks a fundamental question: 2. Radical Surrealism and Political Satire
+------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+ | Feature | Details | +------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+ | Director | Tinto Brass | | Key Cast | Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, Leopoldo Trieste | | Release Date | September 4, 1971 (Venice), April 5, 1972 (Italy) | | Major Award | Pasinetti Award for Best Italian Film (Venice 1971) | | Runtime | 1 hour, 41 minutes | +------------------+-------------------------------------------------------+ 📖 The Narrative: Madness as a Form of Freedom Upon returning to her rural home in North-Eastern
: It utilizes Brass's trademark quick editing and elegant zoom-shots, though it is often described as more "grounded" and reflective than his earlier, more frantic works.
Upon her release, she finds the "normal" world just as oppressive and irrational as the institution she left: Family Betrayal
Released theatrically on April 5, 1972, after premiering at the Venice Film Festival on September 4, 1971, the film took home the prestigious Pasinetti Award for Best Italian Film. It paired Brass with international powerhouse Vanessa Redgrave and Italian icon Franco Nero, creating a confrontational artwork that remains deeply relevant today. The Satirical Plot: An Institutional "Leave" Characters frequently break the fourth wall or break
You can find more detailed reviews and cast information on platforms like IMDb or Letterboxd . Tinto Brass - Vacation
The narrative shifts from social critique to a surreal journey when she escapes and encounters Osiride, a poacher/birdcatcher played by Franco Nero. Together, they embark on a series of "free-flowing adventures" across the Italian countryside, allowing Brass to explore themes of liberty, madness, and the repression of human desire. Artistic Style: Brass Before the Explicit Era
