The Vacation -la Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -s... -

Brass uses architecture as a weapon. The hotel where the couple stays is a Fascist-era building: cold, symmetrical, inhuman. The couple walks through its corridors like prisoners. The famous “vacation” locales—the beach, the mountains, the piazza—are all framed as traps. In a bravura sequence, Brass films the couple from the bottom of a swimming pool. Their voices are muffled. They wave at each other but cannot hear. It is a perfect metaphor for the film’s theme: communication failed before it began.

While Page’s casting was a stunt, ’s involvement gave the film its intellectual weight. At the time, Redgrave was one of the most acclaimed actresses in the world (an Oscar for Julia would come six years later). She was also a vehement Marxist and a supporter of the Workers’ Revolutionary Party. The Vacation -La Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -S...

Highly experimental, satirical, and non-linear, typical of Brass's pre-erotic era. Plot Summary Brass uses architecture as a weapon

The plot of "The Vacation" is deceptively simple. The film follows a group of Italian middle-class friends who embark on a summer vacation to the picturesque coastal town of Ostia, near Rome. The group, consisting of Clara (Valeria Zalla), Mario (Mario Monicelli), and Bruno (Bruno Corbucci), among others, arrive at their vacation home, a spacious villa overlooking the sea. Initially, the atmosphere is lighthearted and carefree, with the friends engaging in various leisure activities, such as swimming, drinking, and flirting. They wave at each other but cannot hear