La Liceale (5 Stars)

This is the fourth film in my high school movie marathon. I intended to watch seven films by the end of May, but I doubt I'll make it. I have a lot to do over the weekend, so I'll have to skip a few days and continue in June. I may add a few more films to the marathon to make up.

There's no senior prom in this school. There can't be, because it's an Italian film, and Italians don't do proms. I don't understand the Italian school system. The children are 17, but it's class 3L. If any Italians are reading my blog, please leave a comment explaining the strange numbering.

"La Liceale" was made in 1975, but it wasn't released in Germany until 1980. When I saw it in the cinema I was overwhelmed by the sexuality, but after buying it on DVD I've realised that it's a very good film all round. Some reviewers have criticised it for its lack of consistency. It starts as a comedy, but in the last half hour it turns sad. That's not a problem for me. It fits the film's subject matter as a coming-of-age drama.

Loredana is a virgin, and she wants to stay that way. It's not for religious reasons, or even the ideal of saving herself until marriage. It's a matter of power. As she tells her best friend Monica, "It's fun exciting the boys. The teachers as well. I can make them do whatever I want". She flashes her panties at the teachers, making them stutter and lose their train of thought. When a new teacher gives her a bad mark she jumps into his car and flirts with him. He keeps telling her that he'll get in trouble if he does anything with her, but that's what Loredana wants. She excites him and scares him and the same time, and she'll never get a bad mark again. 

She plays with the teachers and she plays with the boys. She strips naked for her classmate Thomas to paint her, then pushes him away when he grabs her. She would have been disappointed if he hadn't grabbed her. She goes skinny-dipping with Billy, and she allows him to kiss her passionately, but she walks away and leaves him panting for more.

Note: The German DVD changes the names. Billy and Thomas are called Gianni and Petruccio in the original Italian version.

Monica is played by the Italian politician Ilona Staller in her first film role. She disagrees with Loredana's chastity. Monica sleeps with older men, who give her a lot of money. The two schoolgirls both exercise control over men, in their different ways. 

The comedy turns to tragedy when Loredana gives up her power. She falls in love with a business colleague of her father's. She enjoys the sexual experience so much that she doesn't notice her power slip away. There's nothing wrong with being in love, but Loredana doesn't realise that the man is using her until it's too late. The worst thing isn't that he uses her physically, it's that he abuses her emotionally.

Can she regain her power? The final scene leaves it open. She flirts with the teacher again, who's now given up resisting her and proclaims his love for her. Then she rides off on the back of Billy's motorbike. Will she give herself to him? Maybe. I hope not.