Review of Sweet Adolescents

It is three years after the end of WWII and things are not easy in Italy. Particularly for one family. The husband is a small-minded and petty bully and regularly physically and verbally assaults his wife and daughter. His young son Ju (Sven Valsecchi) is his favourite and barely gets criticized. It is clear that women are seen as lesser beings than men. The husband runs his household like a tyrant and gives his wife barely enough money to buy proper food. It is more important that his son gets a proper (and expensive) education, than wasting money on food, he argues. The man's brother is gravely ill and the husband agrees that his niece can move in with them. This girl, Nenè (Leonora Fani), is a warm-blooded 14 year old lass who quickly makes friends with a young vagrant of mixed race, a mulatto, who lives with several other homeless people in a derelict building nearby. This young man only has one thing in mind.

Ju is precocious and despite his very young age gets to learn about the facts of life quite early on, Nenè an enthusiastic teacher. He is inquisitive and spies on Nenè when she gets together with her boyfriend. And that is how Ju's father found them...

This is an engrossing film, particularly with the background of post-war political turmoil. The film is funny at times, but the underlying atmosphere is one of sadness at the oppression the women suffer.

I found the acting quite good, but is is particularly the cinematography that impressed. I score this film a good 7/10.