''Desiderando Giulia'', internationally released as ''Desiring Julia'', is a

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Italian

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 ...

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

Andrea Barzini Andrea Barzini (born 14 December 1952) is an Italian film and television director, screenwriter and producer. He is the son of Italian journalist and politician Luigi Barzini Jr. and the father of Italian writer Chiara Barzini. Filmography * '' ...

. It is loosely based on the 1898 novel ''

Senilità ''Senilità'', translated into English as ''As a Man Grows Older'' or ''Emilio's Carnival'', is Italo Svevo's second novel, first published in 1898. The novel's protagonist is Emilio Brentani, a failed writer torn between his longing for love and ...

'' by

Italo Svevo Aron Hector Schmitz (19 December 186113 September 1928), better known by the pseudonym Italo Svevo (), was an Italian writer, businessman, novelist, playwright, and short story writer. A close friend of Irish novelist and poet James Joyce, Svevo ...

Plot

Emilio, an unsuccessful writer, lives in a comfortable apartment in Rome with his older sister Amalia. In a theatre he sees a mysterious woman and, following her into the wardrobe room, they make love. She is Giulia, who lives in Ostia and is trying to make a career as a photographic model. Following a disordered life, including many men, she has little appetite for an affair with Emilio, whose interest in her is obsessive, but does meet him from time to time and they make love. Amalia is jealous of Emilio's infatuation and, when a younger and more successful writer called Stefano visits the apartment, starts an affair with him. Emilio is outraged that his sister is having wild sex under his roof and breaks up the romance. As his eyes slowly open to the true nature of Giulia and the people she mixes with, he decides to transform her into the person he wants her to be but this project, as could have been predicted, fails. His sister, deprived of her brother's affection and her one chance of love, commits suicide.

Cast

Serena Grandi Serena Grandi (born 23 March 1958, in Bologna) is an Italian actress, famous as an icon and sex symbol in Italian cinema of the 1980s and 1990s. Known for her junoesque body and voluptuous measurements, she was considered one of the main pin-u ...

: Giulia *

Johan Leysen Johan Leysen (19 February 1950 – 30 March 2023) was a Belgian actor. He appeared in more than 130 films and television shows from 1977. He starred in the film '' De grens'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Canne ...

: Emilio *

Valeria D'Obici Valeria D'Obici (born 17 April 1952) is an Italian film and television actress. Born in Lerici, Valeria D'Obici debuted in 1974 in the "poliziottesco" '' La polizia ha le mani legate''. Her breakout role was the ugly Fosca in Ettore Scola's '' ...

: Amalia *

Sergio Rubini Sergio Rubini (born 21 December 1959) is an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter. Life and career Rubini was born in Grumo Appula, Apulia, but soon moved to Rome to study acting. After some roles in theater, he debuted in a feature ...

: Stefano * Massimo Sarchielli *

Giuliana Calandra Giuliana Calandra (10 February 1936 – 25 November 2018) was an Italian film, television and stage actress, journalist and television hostess. Life and career Born in Moncalieri, Giuliana Calandra debuted in 1963 Pier Paolo Pasolini's ''La ric ...

References

External links

* 1986 films 1980s erotic drama films 1980s erotic thriller films 1980s Italian-language films Italian erotic drama films Italian erotic thriller films 1980s Italian films {{erotic-film-stub