Laura: The Rebel Years

(ANNI RIBELLI) ((ITALIAN-ARGENTINE))

By DAVID ROONEY

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An Istituto Luce Italnoleggio Cinematografico release (Italy) of a Sintra (Rome)/Division Producciones (Buenos Aires) production, in association with RAI- 2, Istituto Luce, Presidency of the Council of Ministers -- Main Office of Entertainment, Argentine National Film Institute. (International sales: Intra Films, Rome.) Produced by Rosanna Seregni, Eduardo Nunez. RAI producer, Loredana Rotondo. Directed by Rosalia Polizzi. Screenplay, Polizzi, Mario Prosperi.
 

In "Laura: The Rebel Years," the fall of Peron coincides with the rise of a turbulent teen struggling to buck the constraints of her Sicilian origins in fast-changing 1950s Argentina. First feature by Italo-Argentinian Rosalia Polizzi is a solidly, somewhat unimaginatively directed rites-of-passage yarn, whose weaknesses are a shortage of script muscle and an inconsistent greenhorn turn in the title role. Robust small-screen fare should figure on non-U.S. tube slates.

Giving the film some central ballast is Massimo Dapporto's harsh characterization of Francesco, tradition-bound father of Laura (Leticia Bredice). Overbearing and bitterly resentful on the surface, he displays a more-than-occasional flicker of empathy for the needs of his plucky daughter, which lifts his character out of the realm of stock tyrants.

The friction of family life is conveyed with confident strokes, its emotional power steadily accelerated throughout the film. As Francesco becomes increasingly ill with TB, the family of mute, ineffectual women recedes into the background, leaving the angry father-daughter duo out front with crossed swords.

Less fully rounded is Laura's life outside the familial walls, especially her politically enlightening rapport with communist schoolteacher Dora, played with affectation by Alessandra Acciai. Stilted dialogue makes these scenes sit leadenly and artificially among their looser surroundings. A romantic track with a politically committed lawyer (Juan Cruz Bordeu) is more successful.

Onscreen in virtually every scene, Bredice is spirited and likable, but she lacks the dramatic reach to build the two-dimensional character into a headstrong force of nature capable of carrying the film. A nod to "The Little Foxes," where she stands by watching her dying father grasp for his medication, provides an unnecessary reminder that the novice thesp is no Bette Davis. Like a number of the principals, Bredice is not helped by poor dubbing into Italian.

Tech side is generally tidy, and '50s period re-creation is more than functional.

Camera (Cinecitta color), Juan Carlos Lenardi; editor, Alfredo Muschietti; music , Luis Bacalov; art direction, Santiago Elder; costume design, Michela Gisotti, Trini Munoz; sound, Pedro Marra; assistant director, Raul Rodriguez. Reviewed at Venice Film Festival (Italian Panorama), Sept. 5, 1994. Running time: 103 MIN.
 

With: Massimo Dapporto, Alessandra Acciai, Leticia Bredice, Esther Gross, Adelaide Alessi, Inda Ledesma, Juan Cruz Bordeu, Eva Burgos, Adriana Russo, Vanina Fabiak, Daniele Tedeschi.