Compagni di scuola

Federica gathers her old classmates from school at her luxurious villa outside Rome. It is the first time they have all met in years. As the night goes on the old hierarchy comes back: who got rich, who is still doing the same job, who was in love with whom, who humiliated whom. Nobody has really changed; only the clothes have. The film happens almost entirely in this one night and this one house. The comedy comes out of the crowd, but the tone is worth watching: as the scenes go on what was funny turns painful, and in the last half hour nobody wins. Carlo Verdone directed and acted, writing the story with Piero De Bernardi, Leonardo Benvenuti and Rossella Contessi. The cast includes Christian De Sica, Nancy Brilli, Athina Cenci, Massimo Ghini, Eleonora Giorgi and Maurizio Ferrini. The idea was not invented: Verdone drew on a real school reunion he attended with Christian De Sica. It opened in December 1988 and became one of the season's biggest earners. Athina Cenci won best supporting actress at the David di Donatello awards, and the film was also nominated for best actor and best screenplay. Who it is for: anyone who likes Italian social comedy and crowded ensembles in a single location. Who it is not for: anyone who finds it hard to track characters. The class is large, some of them are dispatched with one joke, and references to Italy at the time can pass an outsider by.