The Vacation -la Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -s... ^new^ Jun 2026
Reception & legacy
Fortunately, extensive preservation efforts—including special retrospective screenings with English subtitles at festivals like the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival —have allowed film scholars to re-evaluate it. It serves as an essential masterpiece, proving that Tinto Brass's cinematic eye was always razor-sharp, politically charged, and profoundly ahead of its time.
In the context of Tinto Brass's career, La vacanza is the work of a director unmoored, stuck between the intellectualism of his past and the wild hedonism of his future. It is a film of radical ideas, a powerful indictment of the Italian patriarchy and mental health system, but it is also messy, incoherent, and at times, intentionally grotesque. The Vacation -La Vacanza- - Tinto Brass 1971 -S...
follows the story of a group of young friends who embark on a summer vacation to a coastal town in Italy. The film revolves around their carefree and hedonistic experiences, marked by nudity, sex, and experimentation. Through this seemingly lighthearted narrative, Brass critiques the societal norms and hypocrisy of 1970s Italy, tackling themes such as:
La Vacanza remains one of Tinto Brass’s most polarizing yet artistically respected creations. During its premiere at the 1971 Venice Film Festival, the film generated severe pushback. While film critics praised its radical anti-establishment stance—awarding it the Pasinetti Prize—the festival audience was highly offended by its aggressive style, nearly inciting a riot against Brass. It is a film of radical ideas, a
For international viewers, the best bet is often to seek out physical media copies or digital files from specialized film distributors that focus on rare and cult cinema. When looking for the film, try using both its original title, La vacanza , and its English title, The Vacation .
Jazz-influenced, featuring tracks like "Dove vai in vacanza?" For international viewers
La vacanza was produced by Lion International Film and was, for all intents and purposes, a family affair. It was co-produced by Brass and Franco Nero, and the soundtrack music was composed by Fiorenzo Carpi, with a young Gigi Proietti providing vocals for the closing track.
Immacolata returns to her family's rural estate, only to find an environment far more dysfunctional, abusive, and manipulative than the asylum she left behind. Instead of finding refuge, her family treats her like a commodity, eventually selling her out to clear a debt. The Meeting of Marginalized Souls
: The iconic Italian star (best known for Django ) serves as the film's male lead. Nero's performance as the earthy, anarchic poacher grounds some of the film's more bizarre sequences.