Synopsis
''Mery per sempre'' is set in ''Rosaspina'', a fictional juvenile detention centre (based on a real facility named ''Malaspina'') in Palermo, Sicily, during the 1980s. The protagonist, ''Marco Terzi'' (Michele Placido), is a teacher who has been transferred to Palermo from Milan. He obtains a temporary position as teacher inside the institution, waiting to start teaching in a high school, and has great difficulty in establishing a rapport with the young, hostile students; in particular, ''Natale Sperandeo'' (Francesco Benigno), the leader of the group, who is inside for murder, and ''Pietro Giancona'' (Claudio Amendola). Terzi's situation is further complicated when ''Marilyn Libassi'' (Alessandra Di Sanzo), a Transgender, trans prostitute, nicknamed ''Mery'', falls in love with him and when ''Claudio'' severely hits ''Carmelo'' who wanted rape her. With the passing of time, however, Terzi slowly gains the respect and admiration of his students, even from the most hardened of the young men, but he comes in contrast with the director and the warders. After the death of Pietro, killed during a robbery after a jailbreak, he decides to refuse a well paid position in the high school to stay with the boys. ''Forever Mary'' was followed in 1990 with the sequel ''Ragazzi fuori'', featuring most of the same cast and characters, with the exception of Placido and Amendola. The film ''Mery per sempre'' was the inspiration behind a song with the same name by the popular Israeli singer Ivri Lider.http://www.nrg.co.il/online/archive/ART32/401.htmlReferences
* 1989 films Films set in Palermo Sicilian-language films Italian LGBT-related films Films directed by Marco Risi Italian drama films Films about educators 1980s Italian films {{1980s-Italy-film-stub