Traveling Companion (1996)
"Compagna di viaggio" (original title)

In Rome, Cora is a waitress at a club, walks people's dogs, sleeps with various men, kips with pals, and has a salty tongue. She also has a bruised history: her mother's suicide, her ... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Del Monte

Writers:

Peter Del Monte (screenplay), Peter Del Monte (story),

Stars:

Michel Piccoli, Asia Argento, Lino Capolicchio

4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Michel Piccoli	...	Cosimo
Asia Argento	...	Cora
Lino Capolicchio	...	Pepe
Silvia Cohen	...	Ada
Max Malatesta	...	Giulio
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sebastiano Colla
Germano Di Mattia
Silvana Gasparini
Maddalena Maggi
Patrizia Pezza	...	l'amica di Cora
Pier Francesco Poggi	...	(as Pierfrancesco Poggi)
Elisabetta Rocchetti
Teresa Saponangelo	...	(as Maria Teresa Saponangelo)
Chantal Ughi
Katarzyna Waszynska

Storyline

In Rome, Cora is a waitress at a club, walks people's dogs, sleeps with various men, kips with pals, and has a salty tongue. She also has a bruised history: her mother's suicide, her brother's mental illness. Ada, a dog-owning client, hires her to follow Ada's aged and courtly father every day. The dad, a retired philology professor, has a touch of dementia, sometimes forgetting where he is; Cora is to keep him in sight, phoning Ada if the professor has difficulties. On the third day, he takes a train out of Rome, and Cora follows on what proves to be a journey into her best and worst selves. She becomes his traveling companion, but what does he become to her?

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Plot Keywords:

dementia | rome italy | caretaker | retiree | italy | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

26 April 1996 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Traveling Companion

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alia Film, Istituto Luce

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Fellow travelers

Cora, the young woman at the center of this story, has relocated to Rome, where she works as a waitress in a disco. When we meet her, she is at at odds with what her new life has turned out to be in the new environment. When her friend Ada asks her to help her follow her retired father, who is, for all appearances, in the first stages of the onset of Alzheimer's disease, she accepts reluctantly because of the good pay. Little does she realize her life is about to be changed.

For Cora, what seemed a dull job following Cosimo, suddenly, takes a new dimension as the older man decides to embark on a trip. Not knowing what to do, Cora also boards the train that takes them to a remote town. Cosimo, who seems to be on a voyage of reconnection with his past, goes aimlessly from one town to the next, until Cora makes contact with him. When both are caught by the rain in a covered tennis court, she is able to look at the diary he keeps and discovers a picture of herself among the pages of the book. It's then when we realize that for better, or for worse, these two have more in common than what we previously thought.

Peter Del Monte, the director, and co-writer of the film, shows a great affinity for the job. He is never obtrusive, as he lets the story envelop the viewer in what starts as a disjointed narrative. The film is a great triumph for Asia Argento, who as Cora, goes through a series of emotions she didn't know she was capable of experiencing. Her relationship with Cosimo starts as an annoyance, but the ties between them grow as they traverse the Italian interior. Michel Piccoli, who almost has no dialog, is perfect as the older man. He is losing his mind and can't relate to what is happening to him. Mr. Piccoli gives an underplayed performance that shows all the complexities of Cosimo in this endearing story.

The film shows a new talent in the Italian cinema, Peter Del Monte.