Bianca (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Bianca


imdb_id =0085240
writer = Nanni Moretti
Sandro Petraglia
starring = Nanni Moretti
Laura Morante
Roberto Vezzosi
Remo Remotti
Vincenzo Salemme
director = Nanni Moretti
producer = FasoFilm/ReteItalia
distributor =
released = 1984
runtime = 96 min.
language = Italian
music = Franco Piersanti
awards =
budget =

"Bianca" is an Italian comedy-mystery film directed by Nanni Moretti and released in 1984.

Plot

Michele Apicella (Nanni Moretti) is a young mathematics teacher who is called to a supposedly élite, in fact grotesque, high school with the overblown name of "Marilyn Monroe". Michele is characterized by a great number of obsessions and manias (in a famous scene, he wakes up at night and starts eating Nutella from a giant jar); he also has a habit of spying on the neighbours of his new house, keeping a file for each of them, in which he reports their actions and words. When one of his neighbours is killed, the police inspector (Roberto Vezzosi) becomes curious about Apicella's behaviour. Later he meets his colleague Bianca (Laura Morante), whom he falls in love with. However, his exceedingly orderly mind and manias for perfection of love prevent him from showing her his true feelings; therefore, their affair starts to suffer. Michele begins to follow her and discovers she may have another lover.

Another sub-plot is devoted to Michele's attempts to reconcile his friends Ignazio and Maria. But he fails, and the two are also found killed. Although the police now clearly suspect him, he is rescued by Bianca, who gives Michele a false alibi.

However, Michele's equilibrium at this point is completely crumbling. In the final scenes, he himself confess to the inspector that he is the murderer. In a semi-delirious and humorous self-confession (somewhat reminiscent of the last pages of Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment"), Michele reveals that he felt compelled to kill his neighbours and friends because they had disappointed him, and this disturbs his need for order and steadiness in life.

Themes in Moretti's other works

"Michele Apicella" is the "nom-de-plume" used by Nanni Moretti for his roles in all his films until "Palombella rossa" of 1989. Another recurrent theme of Moretti's film, the Sacher torte, which is also present in "Bianca".

Production details

Songs in the film include "Insieme a te non ci sto più" (sung by Caterina Caselli), "Il cielo in una stanza" by Gino Paoli and "Scalo a Grado" by Franco Battiato.

The school psychologist is played by Luigi Moretti, Nanni's father.

In the "Marilyn Monroe" school, the traditional portraits of the President of the Italian Republic in the rooms are replaced by that of football goalkeeper Dino Zoff.

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085240/ "Bianca"] at the Internet Movie Database