The Vacation -la Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -s... New!
Why watch The Vacation in 2026?
Redgrave delivers a performance of incredible bravery. She is naked—both physically and emotionally—for much of the film. She conveys a sense of dislocation; her eyes often stare past the other characters, looking at something invisible. It is a physical performance, utilizing her tall, slender frame to convey both elegance and a fragile, bird-like vulnerability.
The film’s English title, The Vacation , is a cruel joke. The Italian title, La Vacanza , suggests a break from work. But for the protagonists, there is no rest, only decay. The Vacation -La Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -S...
Premiered Sept 4, 1971 (Venice) / Theatrical April 5, 1972 (Italy) Vanessa Redgrave , Franco Nero, Leopoldo Trieste Screenwriters Tinto Brass, Roberto Lerici, Vincenzo M. Siniscalchi Cinematographer Silvano Ippoliti Genre Avant-Garde / Political Drama / Surrealist Satire Accolades Best Italian Film – Venice Film Festival (1971) The Plot: A "Vacation" from the Asylum
The storyline follows Immacolata Meneghelli (played by Vanessa Redgrave), a vulnerable peasant woman who was previously committed to a psychiatric asylum. Her crime was not true madness, but rather her inconvenient status as the former mistress of a local Count, who had her locked away to smoothly return to his wife. Why watch The Vacation in 2026
Brass employs aggressive jump cuts and disorienting close-ups. In one stunning sequence, a simple conversation about politics dissolves into a screaming match, and the camera seems to lose its mind, whipping between faces, a sweating wine glass, a fly on the wall, and the blinding white sky outside. This is not the cool, detached observation of Antonioni’s alienation. This is a fever dream. This is the hangover after the 1968 protests have failed.
: Critics have compared its dreamlike, often comical, and bizarre vignettes to the works of Luis Buñuel. Critical Reception She conveys a sense of dislocation; her eyes
Characters frequently break the fourth wall or break into stylized, plaintive musical performances (with Redgrave herself singing several tracks).
La Vacanza is often considered one of Tinto Brass’s most significant artistic achievements, demonstrating a depth of social critique that is often overlooked in discussions of his later filmography. It is a raw, often jarring look at the human cost of social conformity and an important entry in the canon of 1970s Italian counter-culture films. La Vacanza (1971) - Quick Facts Description Tinto Brass Starring Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, Leopoldo Trieste Release Year Genre Drama / Surrealist Awards
As she moves between bizarre vignettes, Immacolata weaves a metaphorical medieval fable to contextualize her trauma. However, her brief taste of freedom is cut short by the persistent cruelty of the ruling elite, fascist hunters, and a corrupt legal apparatus led by an unyielding judge (Leopoldo Trieste). The film marches toward a devastating climax where the state violently reasserts its control over the non-conformists. Key Production & Film Elements
