In an Italian domestic drama that makes Dallas seem as bland as The Swiss Family Robinson, Erland Josephson, a regular in Ingmar Bergman films, plays a middle-aged homosexual who takes his young lover home to meet his sister. The sister, however, is ill, and Mariangela Melato, a distant relative, is caring for the house. As it happens, she has a female lover, and they're all hopelessly locked in childhood fantasies. Indeed, much of the movie is given to flashbacks of infantile trauma. Director Franco Brusati won rave notices in 1978 for Bread and Chocolate, but this clinker won't help his reputation. One scene shows only the actors' legs, and there are so many self-conscious camera angles the film looks like a beginner's course in moviemaking—the "Errors to Avoid" section. (Not rated) (In Italian with English subtitles)
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