Vittorio, an American novelist teaching in Rome, meets the beautiful but damaged Bianca and they rapidly fall into an urgent, tempestuous affair. He's hesitant over their relationship since she seems to thrive on conflict and is constantly baiting him into physical altercation. Bianca gives Vittorio an exquisite leather belt as a gift; he knows immediately that she wants him to whip her with it. Driven by his craving for her, Vittorio complies to Bianca's desire. Their relationship escalates into a dark realm of S&M which becomes more and more self-destructive.
Acting
Russo's trembling restraint vs. Brigliadori's chaotic need
Direction
Gamba's unflinching female gaze on destructive desire
Costume
That belt — object, symbol, weapon, love letter
Director
Giuliana Gamba
James Russo
Vittorio De Simone
Eleonora Brigliadori
Bianca Ravelli
Giuliana Calandra
Bianca's Mother
Anna Bonaiuto
The Judge
Karen Moore
Nora
Lidia Broccolino
Bianca's Friend
Riccardo Salvino
Prof. Achille Biondelli
Delia D'Alberti
Biondelli's Wife
Claire Hardwick
Vittorio's Mistress
Valentino Zeichen
Self (as Mario Zeichen)
Francesco Scali
Anchorman
Emidio La Vella
The Doctor
Ivano Marescotti
Friend of Bianca's Mother
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Gamba was among the few Italian women directing erotic cinema in the 1980s; her films were often dismissed as exploitation despite their psychological complexity.
James Russo allegedly kept the prop belt and refused to discuss the film for decades, calling it 'a time I don't visit.'
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