Che? (1972)

A young American woman (Sydne Rome) traveling through Italy finds herself in a strange Mediterranean villa where nothing seems right. Her visit becomes an absurd, decadent, oversexed ... See full summary »

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Gérard Brach, Roman Polanski

Stars:

Marcello Mastroianni, Sydne Rome, Hugh Griffith

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marcello Mastroianni	...	Alex
Sydne Rome	...	Nancy
Hugh Griffith	...	Joseph Noblart
Romolo Valli	...	Giovanni
Guido Alberti	...	Priest
Henning Schlüter	...	Catone (as Henning Schlueter)
Gianfranco Piacentini	...	Tony
Christiane Barry	...	Dresser
Dieter Hallervorden	...	German #2
Elisabeth Witte	...	Nurse
Mogens von Gadow	...	German #1 (as Mogen von Gadow)
Carlo Delle Piane	...	Young Oaf #1 in Car
Luigi Bonos	...	Painter
Livio Galassi
Carla Mancini

Storyline

A young American woman (Sydne Rome) traveling through Italy finds herself in a strange Mediterranean villa where nothing seems right. Her visit becomes an absurd, decadent, oversexed version of "Alice in Wonderland", with Marcello Mastroianni as the maddest of mad hatters and Roman Polanski a kinky March hare.

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Plot Keywords:

woman wearing pajama top | mediterranean | villa | italy | bare breasts | 

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Taglines:

The kinkiest caper of the year!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy France West Germany

Language:

English Italian French

Release Date:

3 October 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Diary of Forbidden Dreams

Filming Locations:

Italy

Box Office

Gross USA:

$64, 9 October 1973

Company Credits

Production Co:

Compagnia Cinematografica Champion,Les Films Concordia,Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa # 61462 delivered on 5-12-1972.

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Goofs

Nancy's hands are well manicured throughout the movie, but quite ordinary during close-ups, when she's supposedly playing the piano.

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Connections

Edited into Marcello, una vita dolce (2006)

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Soundtracks

Moonlight Sonata
By Ludwig van Beethoven
Arranged by Claudio Gizzi

User Reviews

Psychedelic

What? Is a psychedelic fairy tale about an American hippie who wanders into the decadent environment of a seaside villa in Italy after nearly being raped while hitchhiking. She is given a room and, within moments, begins undressing under the peeping eye of a perverted former pimp played by Marcelo Mastroianni, which causes the hippie girl to embark on a mysterious sexual journey. Things are, at the very least, strange within the villa. One inhabitant constantly groans in his room; a mysterious voyeur watches the girl through a hole in her wall; two women wander through the terrace both wearing fancy hats but only one wearing clothes; and of course Mosquito played by the man himself, Roman Polanski. A day after the girl stays in the house, she starts believing she is having déjà vu, each sexual fantasy after the next haunt her over and over again.

I certainly don't consider this to be one of Polanski's best. Due to the content, it is rather sad to see a great actor like Mastroianni in such a poorly developed film like this. Polanski, a filmmaker that previously showed the world he could make great films then decides to make such a poor film as this. Then again this is a hippie film, so for the times I guess it was ok. Nothing impressive to say the least, but since I'm a Polanski fan; lets just say I was just curious to see what he had to offer.