''Passion of Love'' ( it, Passione d'amore) is a 1981 Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Ettore Scola Ettore Scola (; 10 May 1931 – 19 January 2016) was an Italian screenwriter and film director. He received a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film in 1978 for his film ''A Special Day'' and over the course of his film career was nominated for fiv ...

and was adapted from the 1869 novel '' Fosca'' by

Iginio Ugo Tarchetti Iginio (or Igino) Ugo Tarchetti (; 29 June 1839 – 25 March 1869) was an Italian author, poet, and journalist. Life Born in San Salvatore Monferrato, his military career was cut short by ill health, and in 1865 he settled in Milan. Here h ...

. The film was entered into the

1981 Cannes Film Festival The 34th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 27 May 1981. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Człowiek z żelaza'' by Andrzej Wajda. The festival opened with '' Three Brothers'' (''Tre fratelli'') by Francesco Rosi and closed with '' Honeysuckle R ...

and served as the inspiration for the 1994 Broadway musical '' Passion'' by

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

and

James Lapine James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', ''Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ha ...

Plot

In Turin in the winter of 1862, the unmarried Giorgio Bacchetti, a good-looking cavalry captain with a distinguished combat record, is involved in a passionate affair with Clara, a sweet and beautiful married woman. Their meetings end when he is transferred to an isolated outpost on the frontier. The officers there eat and socialise in the house of their colonel, who has given a home to a handicapped cousin of his. This is a young woman named Fosca, suffering not only from a range of physical and psychological problems but also strikingly ugly. Yet she is also sensitive and cultured, and desperate for sympathetic male company. Encouraged by the regimental surgeon, who thinks contact with the new arrival may help, Giorgio spends time with her. While she thrives on what to her is a conquest, Giorgio is dragged down by the emotional strain of her demands on him and falls ill. The surgeon realises that his plan was a mistake and that the only solution is to get Giorgio a transfer. The transfer notice is delivered during the Christmas party in the colonel's house. Fosca goes into massive hysterics, to the horror of the guests who had no idea of the existence and depth of her passion. The colonel, considering his honour impugned by this relationship, which Giorgio entered into out of kindness and pity, challenges Giorgio to a duel next morning. That night, knowing it may be his last and desperately sorry for Fosca, he goes to her bedroom and they consummate their strange love. In the duel, he wounds the colonel but himself collapses under the nervous strain. Fosca dies of shock, and Giorgio is invalided out of the army with no prospects.

Cast

Bernard Giraudeau Bernard René Giraudeau (18 June 1947 – 17 July 2010) was a French actor, film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer. Early life He was born on 18 June 1947 in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime. In 1963 he enlisted in the French navy as a tra ...

as Giorgio *

Valeria D'Obici Valeria D'Obici (born 17 April 1952) is an Italian film and television actress. Born in Lerici, Valeria D'Obici debuted in 1974 in the "poliziottesco" ''La polizia ha le mani legate''. Her breakout role was the ugly Fosca in Ettore Scola's ''Pas ...

as Fosca *

Laura Antonelli Laura Antonelli ( Antonaz; 28 November 1941 – 22 June 2015) was an Italian film actress who appeared in 45 films between 1964 and 1991. Early years Antonelli was born Laura Antonaz in Pola, Kingdom of Italy (in Croatian, Pula), former capita ...

as Clara *

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

as Doctor *

Massimo Girotti Massimo Girotti (18 May 1918 – 5 January 2003) was an Italian film actor whose career spanned seven decades. Born in Mogliano, in the province of Macerata, Girotti developed his athletic physique by swimming and playing polo. While studying eng ...

as Colonel *

Bernard Blier Bernard Blier (11 January 1916 – 29 March 1989) was a French character actor. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his father, a researcher at the Pasteur Institute, was posted at the time. Life and career His rotund features an ...

as Maj. Tarasso *

Gerardo Amato Gerardo Amato (born 15 October 1948) is an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born Gerardo Placido in Ascoli Satriano, the brother of the actor and director Michele Placido, Gerardo Amato at a young age moved to Milan where he trai ...

as Lt. Baggi *

Sandro Ghiani Sandro Ghiani (born 12 August 1952) is an Italian film, stage and television actor. Life and career Born in Carbonia, Sardinia, the son of a postal clerk, Ghiani studied in a seminary, the Institute of Don Orione in Tortona in Piedmont, where, ...

as Giorgio's attendant * Alberto Incrocci as Capt. Rivolti * Rosaria Schemmari as Fosca's maid * Francesco Piastra as Colonel's attendant * Saverio Vallone as Blond lieutenant * Franco Committeri as Clara's husband

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Passion Of Love 1981 films 1981 drama films Italian drama films 1980s Italian-language films Films directed by Ettore Scola Films set in the 1860s Films based on Italian novels Films with screenplays by Ruggero Maccari Films scored by Armando Trovajoli Films with screenplays by Ettore Scola 1980s Italian films