Maledetto il giorno che t'ho incontrato

Bernardo, trying to write a book about Jimi Hendrix, starts analysis because of panic attacks. He meets Camilla, who sees the same doctor. Neither has got out of their previous relationship, and holding on to each other becomes not a new romance but a shared crisis. Carlo Verdone wrote, directed and plays Bernardo. Margherita Buy plays Camilla. It was considered one of Verdone's most mature works in Italy and won in several categories at the David di Donatello awards, with Buy named best actress for the role. The humour comes out of neurosis: therapy sessions, medication, compulsive behaviour and two people amplifying each other's anxiety. What separates it from Verdone's popular comedy template is that the film produces ridiculous situations without diminishing its characters. The Hendrix thread is the metaphor: Bernardo looking for in someone else's biography what he cannot manage in his own life. Who it is for: viewers who like Italian relationship comedy and the humour of neurosis. Who it is not for: anyone wanting an active narrative; this is nearly all conversation.