Avere vent'anni (1978)

Lia and Tina are two beautiful girls who meet and realize that they have a lot in common. They are both young, beautiful and pissed off, so they decide to hitchhike their way to Rome to ... See full summary »

Director:

Fernando Di Leo

Writers:

Fernando Di Leo (screenplay), Fernando Di Leo (story)

Stars:

Gloria Guida, Lilli Carati, Ray Lovelock

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gloria Guida	...	Lia
Lilli Carati	...	Tina
Ray Lovelock	...	Rico
Vincenzo Crocitti	...	Riccetto
Giorgio Bracardi	...	Commissario Maresciallo Zambo
Leopoldo Mastelloni	...	Arguinas
Roberto Reale	...	Head of rapists
Serena Bennato	...	Lesbian car driver
Daniele Vargas	...	Prof. Affatati
Vittorio Caprioli	...	Nazariota
Licinia Lentini	...	Lesbian woman
Daniela Doria	...	Patrizia
Raul Lovecchio	...	Vice-commissioner (as Raoul Lo Vecchio)
Fernando Cerulli	...	Retired civil servant
Camillo Chiara

Storyline

Lia and Tina are two beautiful girls who meet and realize that they have a lot in common. They are both young, beautiful and pissed off, so they decide to hitchhike their way to Rome to find Nazariota's commune, a place to stay for free and have all the sex they want... or so they think. Things don't go as they have planned though, and soon they become involved in prostitution, the police and an aggressive gang.

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Plot Keywords:

prostitution | gang | sex | police | interrogation | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

14 July 1978 (Italy)

Also Known As:

To Be Twenty

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

International Daunia Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min 81 min (recut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Tina: I'm young, hot and pissed off!

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Soundtracks

"Disco is here to stay"
Composed by Alain Leroux

User Reviews

Powerful, tragic tale of naive youth

Applying a simplistic, hypocritical morality to this sleazy tale, the filmmaker (Fernando di Leo) gets to have it both ways. His camera captures every lurid detail of multiple sex scenes and takes every opportunity to savor the fine flesh of the tasty leads (Gloria Guida and Lilli Carati). He then condemns the women for being "sluts" and brutally reprimands them for their behavior.

"To Be Twenty" is a highly watchable story about two twenty-year-old free spirits whose youth and naivety bring on their destruction. Ninety per cent of the film graphically depicts the girls in a series of wild and frivolous adventures. Staples of 70's cinema such as drugs, politics, the generation gap, communal living and free sex are thrown into a mix to produce an enjoyable cinematic cocktail that captures the ennui of the period.

The film's surprising last stanza sounds a mean-spirited warning to women who freely advertise their sexuality without any intention of providing it. It is a nihilistic, barbaric, angry scene of human carnage that echoes the darkest aspects of "Last House on the Left", "Straw Dogs" and "I Spit On Your Grave".

A recurring song is used to potent effect over the end credits and the lead characters are brought to vivid life by the talented Guida and Carati.

Recommended.