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L'ospite
L'ospite
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Liliana Cavani
Written by	Liliana Cavani
Starring	Lucia Bosè; Glauco Mauri
Cinematography	Giulio Albonico
Edited by	Andreina Casini; Giovanni Baragli (supervising editor);
Music by	Gioacchino Rossini
Production; companies	Lotar Film; RAI;
Distributed by	Sacis [it]
Release date	1971 (Venice Film Festival);
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

L'ospite, English title The Guest,^[a] is a 1971 Italian drama film directed by Liliana Cavani and starring Lucia Bosè.^[2]^[3]^[4] It follows a woman who, released from a mental hospital after twenty years, tries in vain to fit into society.

Plot

Writer Piero does research in a psychiatric hospital for his next novel. He finds several deficiencies in the treatment of the patients, but hears only self-justifications and criticism when he confronts the doctors with his observations. He takes a particular interest in the case of Anna, a woman who was hospitalised with depression after the death of her adored cousin twenty years ago. The only person in the institute to whom Anna feels an emotional bond is Luciano, a fellow inmate who maintains in a catatonic state.

Shortly after, Anna is discharged and entrusted to her brother Renato, to the dismay of her brother's wife. Her attempts to make social contacts fail. During a visit by the couple next door, Anna recounts the husband's sexual advances towards her, for which she is slapped by the disbelieving Renato. She runs away and hides in her uncle's abandoned villa. There, in her fantasy, she relives her relationship with her cousin (who appears in the shape of Luciano), with both taking the roles of Pelléas and Mélisande. Eventually, she is found by the police and taken back to the hospital. The last scene shows Anna comforting the motionless Luciano.

Cast

Lucia Bosè as Anna
Glauco Mauri as Piero
Peter Gonzales as Luciano
Alvaro Piccardi [it] as Renato
Giancarlo Caio as the doctor
Giampiero Frondini [it] (credited as Gian Piero Frondini)
Alfio Galardi
Maddalena Gillia
Maria Luisa Salmaso
Lorenzo Piani

Production and release

Cavani had the idea for L'ospite after a visit to a mental hospital.^[2]^[5]^[6] It was produced by the Italian radio and television station RAI, shot on 16 mm film^[2]^[3]^[4] in black and white^[1]^[7] and blown up to 35 mm film.^[4] According to Cavani, the film was made on a low budget with all participants, including Bosè, working for free.^[6]

L'ospite was presented at the 1971 Venice International Film Festival.^[2]^[3]^[4] After a theatrical release the following year, it was broadcast on national television on 24 May 1973.^[8]

Reception

The day after the film's TV presentation, Ugo Buzzolan [it] of La Stampa praised Cavani's "artistic and civil commitment" and Bosè's performance.^[8]

Awards

Targa AIACE (L'Associazione Italiana Amici Cinema d'Essai), 1972^[2]^[4]
Timone d'oro, 1972^[2]^[4]

Notes

^ "Guest" is the term used by the psychiatric hospital's personnel when referring to an inmate.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Cavani, Liliana (director) (1971). L'ospite (Television production) (in Italian). Italy.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Marrone, Gaetana (2000). The Gaze and the Labyrinth: The Cinema of Liliana Cavani. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691008738.
^ ^a ^b ^c "L'ospite". La biennale di Venezia (in Italian). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "L'ospite". lilianacavani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 14 January 2024.
^ Buscemi, Francesco (1996). Invito al cinema di Liliana Cavani. Mursia. p. 59 ff. ISBN 9788842521105.
^ ^a ^b Cavani, Liliana (24 March 2020). "Quando Lucia Bosé (favolosa) si chiuse in un manicomio con me per «L'ospite»: perché la Rai non lo ritrasmette?". Corriere (in Italian). Retrieved 15 January 2024.
^ Mauri, Glauco (2023). Le lacrime della Duse. Ritratto di un artista da vecchio. Falsopiano. p. 87. ISBN 9788893042673.
^ ^a ^b "Omaggio a Lucia Bosè". RAI (in Italian). 28 March 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2024.