Plot
The movie is a tale about a young boy aroused by the sexual awakenings and the political views of the Italian youth. It's set around a group of friends. Silvio (the main character), Ponzi (his best friend) and a group of boys and girls that go to the same school. When the school is threatened with privatization, the students gather to decide whether to occupy the school or take a different action. The most radical kids end up setting the tone of the oncoming protest; the school is going to be occupied. In the night the friends gather, girls in one place and boys in another. They smoke and share experiences. Martino tells the boys that he's had sex with his girlfriend, and that he can last about ten minutes. On the other hand, as the girls chat, his girlfriend tells her friends that it was all very fast.
The next morning, as Ponzi comes to pick up Silvio at his place, he tells him that the school has been shut down and they're going to invade and occupy. When they reach the school, Silvio is one of the lads that gets to a backdoor. They rush in and let the rest of the crowd in. The school is taken, Silvio is exploring the grounds along with Martino's girl (who, we learn, is a long lost love interest of his). They break into the archives and Silvio tells her that Martino is bragging about having sex with her. She gets mad about it and they make out. Silvio is thrilled and ends up telling Ponzi all about it on his way out (he was going home to get his sleeping bag, get back and sleep over at the school, hoping to get more intimate with the girl). Ponzi couldn't keep the secret and so the rumour is out. And the story builds up as it gets to Martino's ear. He gets furious and decides to get things right with Silvio and his girlfriend. The rumours of the archive kisses reach the girl's ear, now she thinks Silvio is just another boy.
At home, Silvio gets into an argument with his father and ends up not making it to the school. We see a rather disturbed relationship of everyday conflicts and discussions, built up emotions and generational conflicts, with the parents trying to tell their stories differently than the ones happening right now. Silvio escapes and at the school there's confrontation against the fascists. As he chases a fascist down the street with a stick, his father stops him and take him home. Another argument at the dinner table ensues.
At the school the kids are chilling, smoking dope and getting closer to each other. Movies are being shown of old protests. Communist flags and revolutionary symbols are all around.
At this point, Claudia begins to step up as a major character. She is talking to a friend, telling her that's it's been six months since she realized that she was in love with Silvio. The friend encourages her to call and tell him how she feels, she fights it for a while but calls him nonetheless. As she calls, Silvio starts to talk about his feelings for the other girl. Claudia hangs up at first. He calls back thinking the line was down. She invites him out the next day, tells him that they should hang out to talk.
Martino has been at the school and learned all about the betrayal. He now rushes to the house of Silvio. As he gets there he rings and Silvio comes down, he punches him and storms away.
The next day, Ponzi calls Silvio and tells him that he has slept over at the school. Silvio goes out to the school. The police arrive at the scene of the occupation. The kids decide to resist. As the police come to storm the gates, the students throw eggs at them. The riot squad beats up a few kids. Some escape, but most of them get arrested: the jealousy-fueled Martino, the most exalted kids, Ponzi and most of the minor characters. Amongst the ones that got away we find Silvio and Claudia. As they talk, Claudia tells him that she has loved him for a long time. He doesn't say anything special in reply. Claudia drops him at home. When she gets home she goes to bed sad. Meanwhile, all the kids are at the police department, even the toughest kids have to call their dads.
Silvio is confused about his friend. He consults his heartbroken brother and he tells him that he should only enjoy the girl but shouldn't fall in love with her. When he goes to Claudia's place, Claudia's mother wakes her up and she gets up confused. She welcomes him and he tells her that they should be together. She closes the door to her room and they kiss. Her mother knocks on the door and tells them that they shouldn't be in locked doors. Claudia takes him up to the rooftop, there they kiss and she asks him if he wants to make love right there. He says yes and things just happen. After they are done, Silvio rushes to Ponzi's house to tell him that he is no longer a virgin. Ponzi swears not to tell anyone this time. When Silvio tells Ponzi about his brother's advice Ponzi says that his brother doesn't know anything. They talk as they walk away and the movie ends.
Caitlin's Way is a teen drama television series that aired from 2000 to 2002. It originally aired on Nickelodeon in the United States and YTV in Canada. The series was co-created by Thomas W. Lynch and Paul M. Belous.
Silvio Muccino is an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter.
Ishq Vishk is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romantic comedy film starring Shahid Kapoor in his debut film performance, Amrita Rao, Shenaz Treasurywala, Yash Tonk, Satish Shah and Vishal Malhotra.
Someone Like You (1998) is a young adult novel by Sarah Dessen. The movie How to Deal was based on this novel as well as one of Dessen's other novels, That Summer.
The Widow is a Jacobean stage play first published in 1652, but written decades earlier.
Michelle Richardson is a fictional character in both the teen drama British series and U.S. remake of Skins. She is played by April Pearson in the British version and by Rachel Thevenard in the American version.
"The Wedding" is the 12th episode in the first season of the television series How I Met Your Mother. It originally aired on January 9, 2006 on CBS.
Manual of Love is a 2005 Italian blockbuster romantic comedy film in four quartets. It was directed by Giovanni Veronesi, who made two sequels, Manuale d'amore 2 – Capitoli successivi in 2007, and Manuale d'amore 3 in 2011.
Fred's Head is a Canadian-French animated series made by Spectra Animation and Galaxy 7, and featuring Fred, a sixteen-year-old and his not-so-normal life. It is co-produced by France at 35% and by Quebec at 65%.
Back to the 80's is a musical written by Neil Gooding with the original musical adaption made by Scott Copeman. It was later re-orchestrated and arranged by Brett Foster in 1999, just prior to the Australian Production. It was originally staged by Neil Gooding Productions Pty Ltd in Sydney, Australia in 2001. It is a popular show for school productions in the English speaking world.
Olivia Falconeri is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Created by head writer Robert Guza, Jr. and introduced by executive producer Jill Farren Phelps, the role been portrayed by Lisa LoCicero since September 2008.
My Heartbeat is a 2002 novel by Garret Freymann-Weyr, about a fourteen-year-old girl who discovers that her brother and his best friend, James, who she has been in love with for years, could be a couple. It was named a Printz Honor book in 2003.
The Secrets of Love is an adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility. It was written by Rosie Rushton and published by Piccadilly Press Ltd. in 2005. The book had a total of 176 pages and was published as a young adult book. The book is a 21st century adaption of Jane Austen's famous work, Sense and Sensibility.
Summer of Secrets is the second part of the 21st century Austen series by Rosie Rushton. It was published in 2007 by Piccadilly Press It is an adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel Northanger Abbey.
Damage is a young adult novel written by A. M. Jenkins, published October 16, 2001 by HarperTeen.
Evernight is a series of five vampire-based romantic fantasy novels by The New York Times bestselling American author Claudia Gray. It tells the story of Bianca Olivier, a 16-year-old half-vampire girl born to two vampires, who is forced to attend Evernight Academy, a private boarding school for vampires. She was enrolled in order to fulfill her destiny to become a full vampire, even though she feels she doesn't belong there. Bianca then meets and falls in love with a human named Lucas Ross, who also feels he isn't the Evernight type, but their love becomes forbidden by their families and friends when the truth of each other's nature comes to light. Not only is it revealed that Bianca is a vampire, but it is also revealed that Lucas is a member of the ancient vampire hunting group Black Cross.
Dog with a Blog is an American comedy television series that aired on Disney Channel from October 12, 2012 to September 25, 2015. The series stars G Hannelius, Blake Michael, Francesca Capaldi, Regan Burns, and Beth Littleford, and also features the voice of Stephen Full.
Ali Mills is a fictional character portrayed by Elisabeth Shue in the The Karate Kid franchise, appearing in the original film The Karate Kid (1984), and a minor character in the third season of its sequel series Cobra Kai (2021).
