Girl with a Suitcase (1961)

Lorenzo, who's 16 and born to a wealthy family in Parma, tries to make things right toward a showgirl, Aida, whom his older brother has mistreated. In extending kindness and standing up for... See full summary »

Director:

Valerio Zurlini

Writers:

Leonardo Benvenuti (story) (as Leo Benvenuti), Piero De Bernardi (story)

Stars:

Claudia Cardinale, Jacques Perrin, Luciana Angiolillo

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Claudia Cardinale	...	Aida Zepponi
Jacques Perrin	...	Lorenzo Fainardi
Luciana Angiolillo	...	Aunt of Lorenzo
Renato Baldini	...	Francia
Riccardo Garrone	...	Romolo
Elsa Albani	...	Lucia
Corrado Pani	...	Marcello Fainardi
Gian Maria Volontè	...	Piero Benotti
Romolo Valli	...	Don Pietro Introna
Enzo Garinei	...	Pino
Ciccio Barbi	...	Crosia
Nadia Bianchi	...	Nuccia
Angela Portaluri
Edda Soligo	...	Teacher

Storyline

Lorenzo, who's 16 and born to a wealthy family in Parma, tries to make things right toward a showgirl, Aida, whom his older brother has mistreated. In extending kindness and standing up for her, he comes of age. But, is there anything he can do that will alter Aida's situation or her prospects?

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Plot Keywords:

coming of age | italy | 1960s | seaside resort | parma italy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

11 September 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Girl with a Suitcase

Filming Locations:

4 viale Arturo Toscanini, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Titanus, Société Générale de Cinématographie (S.G.C.)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2008, the film was selected to enter the list of the 100 Italian films to be saved (100 film italiani da salvare). The list was created with the aim to report "100 films that have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978". The project was established by the Venice Days ("Giornate degli Autori") in the Venice Film Festival, in collaboration with Cinecittà Holding and with the support of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage.

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Goofs

In the opening scene when Aida takes an emergency bathroom break in the ditch, there is a noticeable paper cup like white object in the middle of the road. It comes and goes and moves around.

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Connections

Featured in Hep Taxi!: Claudia Cardinale

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Soundtracks

Tequila
Written by Chuck and Locatelli

User Reviews

One of Cardinale's defining work in her early career

One of Cardinale's defining work in her early career, GIRL WITH A SUITCASE is director Zurlini's second feature, an eye-pleasing Black-and-White melodrama centres on the dead-end obsession, which a young rich boy Lorenzo (Perrin) projects on Aida (Cardinale), a penniless nightclub showgirl, who has been dumped by his elder brother Marcello (Pani).

In the movie, Lorenzo is a 16-year-older, having barely arrived puberty, Aida is his first crush, which symbolises the most innocent and pure affection a boy must experience once-in-a-lifetime, propelled by unquenchable impulse, he is willing to do anything for her, and will surely swallow the bitter taste since their relationship can bear no fruition, the age barrier, the class disparity, all appear too formidable for Lorenzo to overcome, and Lorenzo is so good-natured and is too obedient to rebel against the unfair and prejudiced society. When we are young, we might meet the right person in the wrong time, maybe this is what Zurlini wants us to ruminate on.

But more relevant to contemporary audience, the film tends to be preferably reckoned as a strong showcase for Cardinale, debatably the very first one for her to stretch her limit as an actress in spite of her drop-dead sex appeal. Also later it reveals that Aida has been entering motherhood in a fairly early age, which mirrors Cardinale's own turbulent personal life of being a mother at the age of 19. Her Aida is a sultry damsel-in-distress, but the reality offers her no prince-charming, only leery chancers want to physically overtake her, in a critical point, she has no alternative other than agreeing to prostitute herself, we should feel empathetic to her, but that feeling is not well- sustained, since Aida is clearly aware of Lorenzo's blind fixation, and she has no qualms to cash in on it, and being brutally honest about their doomed future. The script dangles sluggishly in the cul-de-sac, to an extent of being patience-testingly sentimental, the two-handers between Cardinale and Perrin often oscillate between generic theatrics and amateurish spontaneity sans scintillating chemistry, which inadequately sets the tenor in a lukewarm limbo.

On the plus side, the film occasionally coruscates with its dashing panning camera movements, indicates that DP Santoni is a master-hand behind it; also the soundtrack is a winsome collage of classic pieces frequently played with harpsichord, builds up a solemn mood for the harsh reality where money becomes the only opt-out for something intrinsically superior to all the material concerns.