''First Love'' ( Italian: ''Primo Amore'') is an Italian 2004

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

body horror Body horror or biological horror is a subgenre of horror that intentionally showcases grotesque or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body. These violations may manifest through aberrant sex, mutations, mutilation, zombification, ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Matteo Garrone Matteo Garrone (born 15 October 1968) is an Italians, Italian filmmaker. Born in Rome, the son of a theatre critic, Nico Garrone and a photographer, in 1996 Garrone won the ''Sacher d'Oro'', an award sponsored by Nanni Moretti, with the short fi ...

and Massimo Gaudioso, loosely based on the autobiographical novel by Marco Mariolini. The film deals with

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gr ...

Plot

Vittorio, a Veronese goldsmith, meets Sonia through a blind date; the two begin to date and thereby to get to know each other, notwithstanding some initial doubts about the possibility of success of their relationship: Vittorio is having therapy due to his obsession with thin women up to the point of anorexia. Their relationship continues as Sonia agrees to lose weight — ignoring the man’s neurosis — which she seemingly does as an act of love, not through her own desire. What at first seems only a benign choice turns into a nightmare for Sonia, made worse because the two have chosen to live together. Vittorio becomes increasingly suspicious of Sonia, thinking (somewhat correctly) that she eats in secret. He therefore hides the food in her house such that she can only eat salad and vegetables. Sonia becomes very thin, and begins to dislike herself. Her imprisonment becomes increasingly difficult and begins to be detrimental to her health. Due to the shared obsession with her weight, the two often find themselves in embarrassing situations in public. Furthermore, Vittorio’s business is getting worse and worse, ultimately leading to the closure of his laboratory. One evening Sonia has a crisis in a restaurant, due to her hunger. On returning home, Vittorio loses his temper and humiliates her, forcing her to be naked and throwing the food she had managed to hide into the fire. Having reached the limit, Sonia takes advantage of a moment of distraction from Vittorio, grabs a club, and hits him on the head.

Production

Michela Cescon actually lost 15 kilograms (over 30 pounds) in weight during the making of the film, as the director wanted.

Awards

The score won Banda Osiris the 2004

Silver Berlin Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

for Best Film Music. The band won at other festivals, too. At the

Flaiano Film Festival The Flaiano Prizes ( it, Premi Flaiano) are a set of Italian international awards recognizing achievements in the fields of creative writing, cinema, theater and radio-television. Established to honour the Italian author and screenwriter Ennio Flai ...

, Michela Cescon won for Best Actress and Marco Onorato won for Best Cinematography.

Reception

The film "has been described as “a horror movie about desire,” which seems fitting." Kevin Thomas of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' finds this film "an elegantly told tale of obsession that, in failing to take on any larger meaning, rapidly becomes depressing to watch."Kevin Thomas, "Capsule Reviews: 'Primo Amore,' 'The Man Who Copied' and 'The Painting'" ''Los Angeles Times'' April 29, 2005 Thomas and others are confused as to "why she

onia Onia may refer to: * Plural of onium, a bound state of a particle and its antiparticle * Onia, Arkansas Onia is an unincorporated community in Stone County, Arkansas, United States. It has an estimated population of approximately 30 civilians. Th ...

strives so mightily to please someone so obviously insane."

References

External links