''Virgin Territory'' is a 2007

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film directed by

David Leland David Leland (born 20 April 1947) is an English film director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut ''Wish You Were Here'' in 1987. Life He initially trained as an actor at Central School of Speech ...

and starring

Hayden Christensen Hayden Christensen (; born April 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the ''Star Wars'' media franchise. He first appeared in the prequel trilogy films, '' Star Wars: Episode ...

Mischa Barton Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born 24 January 1986) is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's '' Slavs!'' and took the lead in James Lapine's ''Twelve Dreams'' at Ne ...

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack". He made his television debut ...

Rosalind Halstead Rosalind Halstead (born 18 July 1984 in Islington, London) is an English actress, model, and dancer. Early life Halstead trained for five years at the Central School of Ballet, and danced at Sadler's Wells Theatre (Earl's Court and Her Majesty ...

and Kate Groombridge. Based upon

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was som ...

's ''

Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label= Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Da ...

'', it has also been known under the working titles ''The Decameron'', ''Angels and Virgins'', ''Guilty Pleasures'' and ''Chasing Temptation''. The film's Italian title ''Decameron Pie'' pays tribute to both the title of the original source inspiration and to American comedy film '' American Pie''. The film was released in France on December 12, 2007, under the title ''Medieval Pie'', and was released directly-to-DVD in the U.S. in August 2008. It was the last film produced by

Dino De Laurentiis Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. He ...

Plot

The film is set in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

(

Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence, officially the Florentine Republic ( it, Repubblica Fiorentina, , or ), was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Fl ...

) during the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

. As in the ''Decameron'', ten young Florentines take refuge from the plague. But instead of telling stories, they have lusty adventures, bawdy exchanges, romance and swordplay. There are randy nuns,

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

pirates, and a sexy cow. Pampinea is the daughter of a wealthy merchant who has died moments before the start of the movie. Lorenzo is a young man in town who is exceptionally good at gambling and is charmed by her beauty. Gerbino De Ratta is the head of the local thugs who robs anyone or steals anything that he sees stealable. Count Dzerzhinsky, from the city of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ...

Novgorod Republic The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mod ...

now in modern

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, is Pampinea's fiancé who she has never met. Their fate intertwines after Pampinea's father died and Gerbino robs Pampinea of her fortune, saying her father was in debt. The only way for the merchant's daughter to save her life was to marry him, according to Gerbino himself. Lorenzo was being chased by Gerbino after he bested him at a gambling table, then took refuge in a convent by posing as a "

deaf and dumb Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...

" gardener. At this convent, he has sex with all of the horny nuns, but only until Pampinea's arrival. Pampinea—trying to escape from Gerbino's grasp—ran to the convent for shelter. There she witnesses Lorenzo, whom she'd long had feelings for, having sex with the nuns and get jealous. She blindfolds Lorenzo and kisses him passionately out of love. But then, out of jealousy, she informs the convent's abbess of his deception, that he is actually neither deaf nor dumb. The Count arrives in Florence only to be ambushed by Gerbino's men. All of his companions are killed, but he survives. Receiving a message from Pampinea's servant, Count Dzerzhinsky rides to Pampinea's father's mansion for the wedding, for he has been promised her hand in marriage. On the way, the young Count meets a

skinny dipping Nude swimming is the practice of swimming without clothing, whether in natural bodies of water or in swimming pools. A colloquial term for nude swimming is '' skinny-dipping''. In both British and American English, to swim means "to move thro ...

Elissa—Pampinea's best friend, who is on her way to attend the wedding—and the two subsequently fall in love. The Count is led to believe Elissa is Pampinea. Chased out of the convent, Lorenzo follows Pampinea to her father's mansion. There he confesses to her that he's fallen in love with the nun who kissed him whilst blindfolded, the woman whose face he never got to see. Later, Gerbino and his men arrive at the mansion and imprison Lorenzo. Pampinea agrees to marry Gerbino right that day to save Lorenzo, and thus Lorenzo is banished to the woods. There he meets Dzerzhinsky who is on his way to the mansion to be married to 'Pampinea' (actually Elissa) and the two team up to take out Gerbino's men. Gerbino himself dies falling into a large deep well inside the mansion. Pampinea, in love with Lorenzo, refuses to marry Count Dzerzhinsky, only to realise moments later that the Count himself is actually in love with Elissa who has been posing as her. She happily then runs after Lorenzo and kisses him. Lorenzo realises that she is in fact the nun he's in love with and they hold their wedding that very day, with all of their friends attending.

Cast

- Lorenzo de Lamberti *

- Pampinea Anastargi *

- Gerbino Della Ratta *

Ryan Cartwright Ryan Cartwright (born 14 March 1981) is an English actor. Early life Cartwright was born on 14 March 1981 in Erdington, Birmingham, West Midlands. He has an older brother, Che Cartwright, who is also an actor. Career He began acting with th ...

- Ghino *

- Filomena * Kate Groombridge - Elissa * Christopher Egan - Dioneo *

Nigel Planer Nigel George Planer (born 22 February 1953) is a British actor, comedian, musician, novelist and playwright. He played Neil in the BBC comedy '' The Young Ones'' and Ralph Filthy in '' Filthy Rich & Catflap''. He has appeared in many West End ...

- Uncle Bruno *

Matthew Rhys Matthew Rhys Evans ( ; born 8 November 1974) is a Welsh actor. He is known for playing Kevin Walker in '' Brothers & Sisters'' (2006–2011) and Philip Jennings in ''The Americans'' (2013–2018), for which he received two Golden Globe Awar ...

- Count Dzerzhinsky *

Rupert Friend Rupert William Anthony Friend (born 9 October 1981) is an English actor. He first gained recognition for his roles in '' The Libertine'' (2004) and '' Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont'' (2005), both of which won him awards for best newcomer. He port ...

- Alessandro Felice *

Silvia Colloca Silvia Colloca (born 23 July 1977) is an Italian-Australian actress, opera singer, cookbook author, and TV cookery show personality. She has published six cookbooks. Life and career Colloca was born in Milan to Loredana and Mario Colloca. Her ...

- Sister Lisabetta *

Anna Galiena Anna Galiena (born 22 December 1954) is an Italian actress, best known to English-speaking audiences for her appearances in '' Le Mari de la coiffeuse'', '' Jamón, jamón'', '' Being Human'' and ''Senso '45''. Movie career In her youth, Galie ...

- The Abbess *

Elisabetta Canalis Elisabetta Canalis (; born 12 September 1978) is an Italian actress and showgirl. Early life Canalis was born in Sassari, Sardinia in Italy. Her father, Cesare, is a radiologist in University of Sassari's clinic, and her mother, Bruna, was a te ...

- Nun *

Craig Parkinson Craig Parkinson (born 11 March 1976) is an English actor and podcaster. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Shaun in the E4 series '' Misfits'', twins Jimmy and Johnny Kray in the ITV series ''Whitechapel'', and DI Matthew "Dot" Cottan ...

- Tindaro

Soundtrack

* Wolfman and the Side-Effects — "For Lovers" (featuring

Pete Doherty Peter Doherty (born 12 March 1979) is an English musician, songwriter, actor, poet, writer, and artist. He is best known for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he formed with Carl Barât in 1997. His other musical projects are indie ...

) *

Martina Topley-Bird Martina Gillian Topley-Bird (''née'' Topley; born 7 May 1975) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained fame as the featured female vocalist on trip hop pioneer Tricky's debut album, '' Maxinquaye'' (1995). ...

— "Bless You" *

Groove Armada Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles "At the River", " I See You Baby" and " Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of w ...

— "But I Feel Good" * The Kills — "No Wow (Telephone Radio Germany)" *

Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe. The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first rose to popularity in the underground house sce ...

— "Lucky Star" (featuring

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. D ...

) *

Italian X-Rays ''Italian X Rays'' is the thirteenth studio album by American rock band Steve Miller Band. The album was released in November 1984, by Capitol Records. "Who Do You Love?" and "Out of the Night" were songs co-written by Steve Miller and Tim Dav ...

— "Art of Joy" * Micah P. Hinson — "Don't You Forget" (featuring The Gospel of Progress) * Blur — "Tender" *

— "Da Da Da Da"

References

External links

* * {{David Leland 2007 films 2007 direct-to-video films American teen comedy films American sex comedy films British romantic comedy films The Decameron 2000s English-language films English-language French films English-language Italian films English-language Luxembourgian films 2007 romantic comedy films Films based on works by Giovanni Boccaccio Films set in Florence Films set in the 14th century French romantic comedy films Italian romantic comedy films Films directed by David Leland Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis Films produced by Martha De Laurentiis Films scored by Ilan Eshkeri 2000s sex comedy films Teen sex comedy films Luxembourgian comedy films 2000s American films 2000s British films 2000s French films