''Nasty Love'' ( it, L'amore molesto) (released in the United States as ''Troubling Love'', is a 1995 Italian

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Mario Martone. It was entered into the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. It is based on the novel of the same name, by

Elena Ferrante Elena Ferrante () is a pseudonymous Italian novelist. Ferrante's books, originally published in Italian, have been translated into many languages. Her four-book series of ''Neapolitan Novels'' are her most widely known works. ''Time'' magazine ...

. The film was shot mainly in

Naples, Italy Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Plot

Delia, a Neapolitan artist who has lived for many years in Bologna, returns to Naples after the sudden death of her mother, who apparently committed suicide by drowning. She doesn't believe the official verdict of suicide, convinced that her mother's exuberance, vivacity and existential positivity, which she remembers very well, would never have led her to do such a thing. She therefore begins to investigate her mother's recent past, given further impetus by disturbing phone calls received from an unknown interlocutor. The fragmentary reconstruction of the last days of her mother's life bring to light remote events that Delia had hidden and buried in her memory, and force her to contemplate a reality different from what she had hitherto understood. Delia remembers and relives the moment when, under the influence of her oppressive father, she breaks her relationship with her mother, accused by her husband of a clandestine relationship with an unknown individual. But Delia is not ready to discover the truth about her mother, and therefore perhaps about herself, and just when the mystery about the last days preceding the supposed suicide is about to be clarified, she decides to return to Bologna, moving away forever from a painful past and from the hidden truth.

Cast

* Anna Bonaiuto as Delia *

Angela Luce Angela Luce (born 3 December 1938) is an Italian film actress and singer of Neapolitan song. She has appeared in 80 films since 1958. She was born in Naples, Italy. Partial filmography * ''La sposa'' (1958) - Margherita * ''Avventura a Capri'' ...

as Amalia * Gianni Cajafa as Uncle Filippo *

Peppe Lanzetta Peppe Lanzetta (born 6 February 1956) is an Italian actor. He appeared in more than twenty films since 1985. Filmography References External links * * 1956 births Living people Italian male film actors {{Italy-film-actor-stub ...

as Antonio *

Licia Maglietta Licia Maglietta (born 16 November 1954) is an Italian actress and stage director, known for her work with Italian director Silvio Soldini. Their collaborations include romances ''Bread and Tulips'' (2000) - for which Maglietta won multiple awards ...

as Young Amalia * Anna Calato as Signora De Riso * Italo Celoro as Delia's Father * Carmela Pecoraro as Delia, as a child * Giovanni Viglietti as Caserta *

Lina Polito Lina Polito (born 24 August 1954) is an Italian actress. Born in Naples, Polito started her career on stage with Eduardo De Filippo. She made her film debut in 1973, with Lina Wertmüller's ''Love and Anarchy'', and for this performance she was a ...

as Rosaria, Delia's Sister *

Enzo De Caro Enzo is an Italian given name derivative of the German name Heinz. It can be used also as the short form for Lorenzo, Vincenzo, Innocenzo, or Fiorenzo. It is most common in the Romance-speaking world, particularly in Italy and Latin America but ...

as Caserta in Flashbacks *

Francesco Paolantoni Francesco Paolantoni (born 3 March 1956) is an Italian film, stage and television actor and comedian. Born in Naples, Paolantoni studied acting at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico in Rome, then he started a career as a ...

as Uncle Filippo in Flashbacks * Piero Tassitano as Legal Doctor * Marita D'Elia as Wanda, Delia's Sister * Sabina Cangiano as Shop Assistant * Beniamino Femiano as Cloakroom Attendant

Awards

''L'Amore Molesto'' won 3 David di Donatello Awards for Best Actress, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for 2 for Best Film and Best Producer. It was also nominated for a

Palme D'or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

by the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

for director Mario Martone. Anna Bonaiuto also won a

Silver Ribbon The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...

under the category of

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

for her role as Delia.

References

External links

* 1995 films 1995 thriller films 1990s Italian-language films Italian thriller films Films directed by Mario Martone Films set in Naples 1990s Italian films Films based on works by Elena Ferrante {{1990s-thriller-film-stub