I Knew Her Well (Io la conoscevo bene)

Antonio Pietrangeli directed I Knew Her Well (Io la conoscevo bene), a 1965 comedy-drama made as an Italian-French-German co-production. It follows Adriana Astarelli, an attractive and naive young woman played by Stefania Sandrelli, who leaves the countryside for Rome hoping to break into the world of cinema and fame. In the city she drifts between odd jobs and a succession of men who use or disappoint her, and her apparently carefree wandering gradually exposes a deep loneliness. Through her episodic journey, the film paints a gently observed yet pointed portrait of the shallow, image-obsessed society of Italy's economic boom years. The screenplay was written by Pietrangeli together with Ruggero Maccari and Ettore Scola, while the supporting cast includes Nino Manfredi, Ugo Tognazzi, Jean-Claude Brialy, Mario Adorf and Franco Nero. The leading role, taken on when Sandrelli was only nineteen, is considered a landmark of her career. Initially met with little attention, the film's standing grew over the decades, and in 2008 it was placed on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage's list of 100 Italian films to be saved.