Devil in the Flesh (1986 film)
Devil in the Flesh (original title: Il diavolo in corpo) is an Italian film released in 1986 and directed by Marco Bellocchio.
| Devil in the Flesh | |
|---|---|
 English-language theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Marco Bellocchio |
| Produced by | Leo Pescarolo |
| Screenplay by | Marco Bellocchio Ennio De Concini Enrico Palandri |
| Based on | Le Diable au corps by Raymond Radiguet |
| Starring | Maruschka Detmers Federico Pitzalis |
| Music by | Carlo Crivelli |
| Cinematography | Giuseppe Lanci |
| Edited by | Mirco Garrone |
| Distributed by | BAC Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 114 min |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
An adaptation of Raymond Radiguet’s novel Le Diable au corps, the film stars Federico Pitzalis as a high school student who falls in love with an older woman (played by Maruschka Detmers).
Storyline
An Italian high school student named Andrea becomes infatuated with Giulia, an older woman he sees outside his classroom window. Giulia's fiancé, a leftist radical, has been jailed and is currently on trial for political crimes. Andrea and Giulia meet, and begin rendezvousing at her apartment, where a sexual relationship quickly unfolds. The situation is complicated when the fiancé's mother realizes this, and confronts Andrea's father. Andrea's father is a psychiatrist who treats patients with psychoanalysis. He has treated Giulia in the past. The psychiatrist finds himself a victim of Giulia's sexual advances, which he attributes to madness. As a passionate affair unfolds between Giulia and Andrea, the viewer is left wondering exactly how crazy Giulia really is, and whether Giulia had an affair with the boy's father as well. Intensity of passion between Giulia and Andrea builds towards the climax. Andrea's father confronts him about this affair, but Andrea doesn't back down. Giulia's husband is released from the jail. The last ten minutes of this movie do a poetic justice to all the confusion and passion built up craftily in the movie.
Onscreen sexuality
One of the more notable aspects of the film is an extended (though darkly lit) scene in which the character played by Maruschka Detmers performs an unsimulated fellatio on the character played by Federico Pitzalis.[1]
References
- Canby, Vincent (1987-05-29). "Movie Review – Devil in the Flesh – NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-03-01.