''Forever Mary'' (), is an Italian dramatic film directed by

Marco Risi Marco Risi (born 4 June 1951) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, film producer and cinematographer. Born in Milan, he is son of director Dino Risi. After graduating from Liceo Scientifico, Risi joined the faculty of philosophy, but aban ...

and released in 1989. It stars

Michele Placido Michele Placido (; born 19 May 1946) is an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He began his career on stage, and first gained mainstream attention through a series of roles in films directed by the likes of Mario Monicelli and Marco Belloc ...

Claudio Amendola Claudio Amendola (born 16 February 1963) is an Italian actor, film director and television presenter. He starred in the 1993 film '' The Escort'', which was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. Biography Born in Rome and the son of act ...

Alessandra Di Sanzo Alessandra Di Sanzo (born 26 August 1969), is an Italian actress best known for her portrayal of the teenage Transgender, trans prostitute ''Marilyn Libassi'', nicknamed ''Mery'' in Marco Risi's dramatic film, ''Mery per sempre'' ("Forever_Mary ...

Francesco Benigno Francesco Benigno (born 4 October 1967), is an Italian actor, director, singer and television personality. Early life Benigno was born in Palermo, Sicily, the twelfth of thirteen children. He grew up in Via Cataldo Parisio located in the densel ...

, Roberto Mariano, Maurizio Prollo, Filippo Genzardi, Alfredo Li Bassi,

Salvatore Termini Salvatore Termini (born 6 April 1967 in Palermo, Sicily) is an Italian actor best known for his role as "Giovanni Trapani", nicknamed "King Kong", in two Italian language dramatic films directed by Marco Risi, "Mery per sempre" ("Forever_Mary , ...

Luigi Maria Burruano Luigi Maria Burruano (20 October 1948 – 10 September 2017 in Palermo) was an Italian film, stage and television actor. He began his career in Sicilian-language cabaret and theatre before turning his attention to films. Life and career Bor ...

, Gianluca Favilla, Giovanni Alamia, and

Tony Sperandeo Tony Sperandeo (born 8 May 1953) is an Italian actor of cinema and television. Sperandeo is notable for frequently playing the roles of tough characters from his native region, Sicily. As of 2011, he was working on ''La Nuova Squadra'', a police ...

Synopsis

''Mery per sempre'' is set in ''Rosaspina'', a fictional juvenile detention centre (based on a real facility named ''Malaspina'') in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, during the 1980s. The protagonist, ''Marco Terzi'' (Michele Placido), is a teacher who has been transferred to Palermo from

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. He obtains a temporary position as a teacher inside the institution, waiting to start teaching in a high school. He has difficulty in establishing a rapport with the young, hostile students; in particular, ''Natale Sperandeo'' (Francesco Benigno), the leader of the group, who is inside for murder, and ''Pietro Giancona'' (Claudio Amendola). Terzi's situation is further complicated when ''Marilyn Libassi'' (Alessandra Di Sanzo), a

trans Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of". Used alone, trans may refer to: Sociology * Trans, a sociological term which may refer to: ** Transgender, people who identify themselves with a gender that di ...

prostitute, nicknamed ''Mery'', falls in love with him. ''Claudio'' severely hits ''Carmelo'' who wanted to rape him after gaining his trust through apparent friendliness. Over time, Terzi gains the respect and admiration of his students, even from the most hardened of the young men, in contrast with the director and the warders. After the death of Pietro, killed during a robbery after a jailbreak, he decides to refuse a well-paid position in the high school to stay with the boys. ''Forever Mary'' was followed in 1990 with the sequel ''

Ragazzi fuori ''Boys on the Outside'' (, idiomatically ''Hustlers Outside'') is a 1990 Italian drama film directed by Marco Risi in the neo-neorealistic style and written by Aurelio Grimaldi. Released in 1990, it is the sequel to the 1989 film '' Forever Mery'' ...

'', featuring most of the same cast and characters, with the exception of Placido and Amendola. The film ''Mery per sempre'' was the inspiration behind a song of the same name by the popular Israeli singer

Ivri Lider Ivri Lider (; born 10 February 1974) is an Israeli pop star and part of the duo TYP, also known as The Young Professionals. He served as a judge on the first season of '' The X Factor Israel''. Music career In October 2005 Lider received the ...

.http://www.nrg.co.il/online/archive/ART32/401.html

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0097870 1989 films Films set in Palermo Sicilian-language films Italian LGBTQ-related films Films about trans women Films directed by Marco Risi Italian drama films Films about educators 1980s Italian films 1989 LGBTQ-related films 1989 drama films 1980s LGBTQ-related drama films