Spielen wir Liebe (1977)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Pier Giuseppe Murgia

Writers:

Peter Berling (writer)
Dieter Geissler (dialogue)

Release Date:

6 May 1977 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot Keywords:

Topless | Urination | Bow And Arrow | Puppy Love | Nude Swimming

Cast

Lara Wendel	...	Laura
Eva Ionesco	...	Silvia
Martin Loeb	...	Fabrizio

Also Known As:

Maladolescenza (Italy)
Maladolescenza - Sie lieben und sie quälen sich (Germany) (long new title)
Playing with Love
Puppy Love
Verbotene Spiele (West Germany)

Runtime:

Germany:93 min | Canada:94 min (Québec) | Spain:93 min

Country:

West Germany | Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:18 (DVD rating) | West Germany:18 (cinema release) (heavily cut) | Germany:(Banned) (2006) | Spain:18 | Canada:18+ (Québec) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

Cinema 23 Film

Trivia:

The proper Italian title of Maladolescenza means 'Adolescent Malice' in English.

Soundtrack:

La Città segreta

Unmissable to any cinephile

Often beautiful at a visual level, poignant on its directorial style, joyful but nostalgic at the same time, and ultimately a satisfactory experience for the all-rounded, open-minded viewer (you may want to stay clear, and while at it also to spare us from a certain neo-medieval kind of retarded comments, if you happen not to be one).

You may love this movie, you may hate it, or you may simply end up wondering what's all the controversy about and why is it still banned or heavily censored in certain so-called "advanced" countries.

One thing is certain: if you like film in general, you should watch it (there's a great new DVD available from Germany, with English subtitles).

Not only because it's a centerpiece both of cinema styles and social perspectives in change and of its own author's career and I dare say, personal life, but also because it's one of those rare, last standing moments of sheer honesty which are representative of a bygone era, and indirectly also representative of how close-minded and hypocrite our western world has become in the past two decades, in direct contrast with what should be expected from a society which repeatedly acknowledges itself (no one else probably would, and clearly DON'T) as the most "advanced" - making it all the more ironic that this simple but interesting movie IS, after all, all about the loss of innocence and youth.