''Study'' is a 2012 Italian

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a Film genre, genre combining the thriller (genre), thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting ...

drama film written, produced, directed by and starring Paolo Benetazzo. It follows a

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

student in the last week before his final exam, discovering his life and exploring his mind. Distinguished by a profound cinematic

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote realizing one's goals and desires, valuing independence and self-reliance, and a ...

, the film was made on an extremely low-budget and was entirely shot by Benetazzo without any

film crew A film crew is a group of people, hired by a production company, for the purpose of Filmmaking, producing a film or motion picture. The crew is distinguished from the Ensemble cast, cast, as the cast are understood to be the actors who appear ...

. ''Study'' has been screened and awarded at several international film festivals including the California Film Awards,

Portobello Film Festival The Portobello Film Festival is an independent international film festival based in London, which annually premiers over 700 new films, including feature films, features, short films, shorts, documentaries, music films, and animation. Additionall ...

, Indie Fest, Cyprus International Film Festival. The film has since developed a cult following among fans and audience.

Plot

Starts on Monday, in the middle of his room, a student ( Paolo Benetazzo) tries to study surrounded by his past and his present, obsessed by the concept of life and death, and tortured by the eternal struggle between science and religion. Each day is a distinct representation of how the student's behavior can be influenced by

interpersonal relationships In social psychology, an interpersonal relation (or interpersonal relationship) describes a social association, connection, or affiliation between two or more people. It overlaps significantly with the concept of social relations, which ar ...

and subsequently by

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

. His

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...

is revealed through a combination of memories, emotions and motivations in a six-day span, while one day is entirely focused on his unconscious cognitive processes. As the days go by, unexpected characters and situations interfere with the student, turning what was meant to be a regular week of study into a complete nightmare.

Production

''Study'' is Paolo Benetazzo's feature film directorial debut. Fascinated by the study of psychology and its impact on modern life, Benetazzo decided to explore that connection in a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

. Once graduated in Psychology he moved to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

where he started writing the script. Filming began in Ireland and went on for a year. The following four years were spent in Italy, in the

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

area, shooting on small sound stages, composing the music and constantly

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written language, written, Image editing, visual, Audio engineer, audible, or Film editing, cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing p ...

. This film, he explains: “comes from a long introspective and experimental work developed over a period of five years. It deals with central concepts in human existence from a psychological point of view.” The film was produced on a budget of only $10,000. Benetazzo made the entire movie without any film crew. Many scenes were filmed with no one behind the camera. He later stated: “Making this movie was like living a dream in hell: the budget was ridiculous, the film crew was non-existent and I had no connections whatsoever. The experience was so extreme that I thought about quitting in several occasions.” Influenced by unconventional

filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

techniques, he worked with an open screenplay and used unknown actors, friends and family.

Soundtrack

The film features many pieces of classical music reinterpreted such as Un Sospiro and Piano Concerto No. 2 (Liszt), Funeral March (Chopin) and Nocturne in E minor, Op. posth. 72 (Chopin), Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and Arabesque No. 1 by

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

, L’usignuolo by Respighi, Prelude to Act 1 Lohengrin by Wagner. The film also features different music genres including hard rock, psychedelic rock, new age, funk rock, gothic rock, thrash metal. The original score was composed by Jean Charles Carbone, Roberto Chemello and Paolo Benetazzo. According to Benetazzo: “Music plays a crucial part in ''Study''. The film does not rely on traditional techniques of narrative cinema. I wanted the film to be a primarily visual and sound experience in which music plays a vital role in evoking specific atmospheres.” The

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

album was released on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

on October 1, 2013.

Release

''Study'' premiered in London at the Portobello Film Festival on September 1, 2012. It has since gained a cult status, due to underground popularity. The film was released via VHX on January 8, 2015.

Film Festivals and awards

2012: Nomination for Audience Award * California Film Awards 2012: Winner Gold Award * Accolade Competition 2013: Winner Award of Merit for Feature Film * Accolade Competition 2013: Winner Award of Merit for Leading Actor * Los Angeles Movie Awards 2013: Winner Honorable Mention * SoCal Film Festival 2013: Official Selection * Columbia Gorge International Film Festival 2014: Official Selection * Cyprus International Film Festival 2014: Official Selection

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 1667488, Study 2012 films 2012 psychological thriller films Italian independent films Italian psychological thriller films 2012 independent films 2010s English-language films English-language independent films English-language thriller films