The Vacation -la Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -s...
La Vacanza (1971), directed by Tinto Brass , is a sharp departure from the voyeuristic erotica that later defined his career. Instead, it stands as a surrealist, politically charged satire that earned the "Best Italian Film" prize at the Venice Film Festival .
She finds temporary solace and emotional entanglements with Osiride (Franco Nero), a free-spirited poacher and birdcatcher, alongside an eccentric English gentleman named Gigi (played by Vanessa's real-life brother, Corin Redgrave). 🎨 Aesthetic Brilliance: The Pre-Erotic Brass Style
Osiride's life as a poacher represents absolute freedom detached from consumerism. The film contrasts the lush, fluid, and natural landscapes of the countryside with the cold, rigid, and structured spaces of the asylum and the factory floor. Creative Collaborations
"The Vacation" (La Vacanza - 1971): A Surreal Masterpiece by Tinto Brass The Vacation -La Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -S...
The film uses surreal, often disjointed editing and dream-like sequences to mirror the protagonist's mental state.
Why watch The Vacation in 2026?
Today, The Vacation (as it is known in English markets) is a cult object. It is rarely screened, but when it is, it provokes fierce debate. Is it a forgotten masterpiece of existential dread? Or is it pretentious nonsense saved only by its rock-star curiosity? La Vacanza (1971), directed by Tinto Brass ,
: While less frenetic than Brass’s earlier works, The Vacation still features experimental editing and surreal imagery. It has been described as a "surrealist fairy tale" with echoes of Luis Buñuel’s work.
Unlike his later works focused heavily on voyeuristic erotica, Brass employs a chaotic, carnivalesque visual language here. The movie balances dark humor, surreal imagery, and Marxist theory. Notable sequences include a bizarre medieval fable narrative, an interrogation by a local judge (played by Leopoldo Trieste), and a climax featuring a literal strike by factory workers. 3. Subversive Visual Techniques
Reception & legacy
Shot in the lush yet stark countryside of North-Eastern Italy, the film features a screenplay co-written by Brass, Roberto Lerici, and Vincenzo M. Siniscalchi. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 4, 1971, before securing its wider Italian theatrical release on April 5, 1972.
The result is astonishing. Page, silent and chain-smoking, delivers a performance that is either brilliantly minimalist or utterly wooden, depending on your taste. He stares into middle distance. He touches Immacolata’s hair as if it were a rare artifact. In the film’s only moment of genuine emotion, Guglielmo smashes a radio that is playing a pop song (a clear prefiguration of punk’s coming rage). But he does it slowly, methodically, like a ritual.
