Fuori Campo

Peter Del Monte

Quinzaine 1970 | Feature film | 90'

A minimalist cinematic style is used in this film to tell the story of a young man who reacquaints himself with an old girlfriend after a chance meeting. He talks to a film director who wishes to make a feature about political change but is uninspired about the lack of real change in everyday life. The woman goes on a boat with an old friend before making love to her former boyfriend. The two rekindle their passions as the passage of time has them viewing each other in a more favorable light.

Artistic & technical sheet

With
Alessandro Haber
Anonio Tanda
Bruno Cattaneo
Nicole Teissier
Vittorio Fanfoni

Prod. Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia Rome

Born in San Francisco, California, on 29 July 1943, Peter Del Monte graduated in letters with a thesis on Italian cinema, after which he obtained a diploma in directing from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia of Rome with a film entitled « Fuori campo », which was screened at various festivals.
After working for several years as a film critic, he directed two features for Rai: « Le parole a venire » (1970), based on a short story by Albert Camus, and « Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis » (1973) from the eponymous novel by Ugo Foscolo.
However, his real cinema debut came with « Irene, Irene » (1975), a refined film focusing on existential issues carried through to great effect by fine performances from Alain Cuny and Olimpia Carlisi. After 5 years of enforced non-productivity due to a lack of funding for his projects, he succeeded in completing « L’altra donna » (1980), a tale of an unusual friendship between a woman and her black housemaid.
In 1983 he made « Piso pisello », a well-mannered if slightly flimsy tale of a a teenager who unexpectedly finds himself in the role of a father. Much more successful was « Little Fires (Piccoli fuochi) » (1985) – scripted together with writer Giovanni Pascutto – based on the complex relationship between a child and his babysitter. « Invito al viaggio » (1982) was a curious road-movie filmed in France about the ambiguous relationship between a young man and his rock singer twin sister.
« Julia and Julia (Giulia e Giulia) » (1987) was a bizarre experiment in the use of high-definition cameras but was very weak in terms of narrative. Equally lacking in focus was « Ballet (Etoile) » (1988), a macabre, mystery-like tale filmed in a dark and brooding Budapest.
The interlinked mini-stories of « Tracce di vita amorosa » (1990) are pervaded by a sense of meaninglessness and irresolution. The delicate « Travelling Companion (Compagna di viaggio) » (1996), which recounts an unusual friendship between an elderly man and a young woman, is instead one of the director’s best films. The subsequent « La ballata del lavavetri » (1998) returns to the realms of sterile and confused parable, as is now too often the case of this cinematographer’s works.
His latest film is « Against the Wind (Controvento) ».

Screenings in Cannes