The Vacation -la Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -s... __hot__ Instant
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.
But this idyll cannot last. The sons of Count Claudio discover the group and murder one of the gypsy women. Osiride returns to prison, and Immacolata, now alone, takes a job at the count’s factory. There, she inadvertently sparks a worker’s revolt, leading to a confrontation with the police. Osiride, having escaped again, rushes to her aid but is shot dead by the authorities. Devastated and considered more “insane” than ever before, Immacolata is forcibly returned to the psychiatric clinic. Her vacation is over.
Furthermore, La Vacanza is remarkably restrained in terms of erotic content. While Brass would later become infamous for his explicit depictions of sexuality, this film contains only minimal nudity. The eroticism that does exist is subsumed within the larger narrative of liberation and rebellion. The love between Immacolata and Osiride is portrayed with tenderness and innocence, a stark contrast to the corrupt, transactional relationships that define the world of the count and the bourgeoisie.
The film uses surreal, often disjointed editing and dream-like sequences to mirror the protagonist's mental state.
Before he became the high priest of Italian erotica, Tinto Brass was a radical provocateur of the avant-garde. His 1971 film La Vacanza (The Vacation) The Vacation -La Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -S...
The film centers on (played with haunting intensity by Vanessa Redgrave), a peasant woman who has been committed to a mental asylum. Her confinement stems from her position as a mistress to a local Count, who, upon returning to his wife, discards Immacolata by having her deemed "mentally disturbed".
La Vacanza is notable for its deliberate use of stylistic contradiction. A scene depicting serious, tragic events might be filmed with a light, almost comedic tone, using fast-paced editing and an unconventional soundtrack. This technique forces the viewer to look beyond the immediate emotion of the scene and engage intellectually with the underlying message—the absurdity of the injustice being depicted. Performances and Cinematic Style
However, modern film historians have re-evaluated the film as a crucial text of Italian counter-cinema. It highlights Vanessa Redgrave's extraordinary range as a political actress and showcases Tinto Brass as a highly capable, radical auteur before his shift into commercial erotica.
At its heart, La Vacanza is a film about the social construction of madness. Immacolata is not insane in any clinical sense; she is simply a woman who dared to love outside her class and who refused to accept her designated role in a patriarchal, capitalist society. Her commitment to a psychiatric hospital is an act of social control, not medical necessity. As one Italian critic put it, the film is a “metaphor for social diversity seen as madness,” a denunciation of the ways in which psychiatry functions as an arm of social control, silencing and pathologizing those who resist conformity. La Vacanza occupies a unique position within Tinto
But paradise is temporary. The couple is hunted down, imprisoned, and repeatedly separated. The denouement has been described as one of the most bizarre climaxes in 70s cinema: Immacolata finds work in the Count’s factory, where she leads the prostitutes there in a silent, erotic revolt, weaving cloth while experiencing a collective orgasm. When Osiride returns to save her, he is mercilessly gunned down by the police. Broken and defeated, Immacolata is dragged back to the psychiatric ward, her "vacation" officially terminated.
Yet for other critics, La Vacanza is nothing short of a masterpiece. One passionate advocate, writing on a fan site, declared: “This no-budget work plays, looks, sounds, and feels like a folk tale. It’s a must-see, and it’s one of my five or six favorite movies ever.” The same critic praised Fiorenzo Carpi’s score as “among the loveliest ever to appear in a movie” and called Redgrave’s performance one of her greatest roles— “completely unglamorous”. The film has also been described as a “surrealist fairy tale” reminiscent of Luis Buñuel’s best works, blending absurdist humor with sharp political commentary.
La Vacanza is a transitional film for Tinto Brass. It comes before his later erotic blockbusters like Caligula and Salon Kitty , but it contains all the seeds of his future obsessions: the rejection of consumer society, social hypocrisy, and a fascination with the marginalized.
remains one of his most politically charged and surrealist works—a sharp departure from the "peek-a-boo" style he’d later perfect. Letterboxd The Core Premise: A "Vacation" Into Chaos The film stars Vanessa Redgrave The latter, of course, became a notorious cause
While Tinto Brass is globally renowned for his later erotic dramas ( Paprika , Caligula , The Key ), The Vacation represents the pinnacle of his "serious" arthouse period. It is a film that bridges the gap between the psychological surrealism of the late 1960s and the political cynicism of 1970s Italian cinema. It is a haunting, visually dense, and politically charged allegory disguised as a romantic drama.
However, she finds "normal" society to be as restrictive and irrational as the asylum. Her family rejects her and even attempts to "sell" her to a creditor. She eventually flees, joining a group of outcasts, including a poacher named (Franco Nero) and "Gigi the Englishman" (Corin Redgrave). Their brief attempt at a free, nomadic life is eventually crushed by police intervention and the rigid structures of authority. Themes and Style Vacation (1971) - IMDb
The Vacation is a scathing critique of the Italian upper class. The husband (played by Leopoldo Trieste) represents the impotent intelligentsia. He is cultured, polite, and wealthy, but he treats his wife like a fragile artifact. The villa is a cage of gold, filled with meaningless conversations and oppressive silence. Brass suggests that this "civilized" world is actually decaying and rotting from the inside.
The Vacation (Italian: La vacanza) is a 1971 drama directed by Tinto Brass. It follows the story of a young woman whose life unravels after a romantic betrayal, tracing her emotional and social descent amidst Italy’s changing cultural landscape. The film blends intimate character study with period detail, showcasing Brass’s developing visual style before his later, more explicit work.