The Man-Eater

Explicit, erotic narrative about the adventures of the mysterious Giulia, whose identity never becomes completely clear. A confusing portrait of love, filled with honest distance and physical mystery, beautifully photographed and framed.

La donna lupo, the first part of a trilogy on which Aurelio Grimaldi is working, is one of the most personal films of the year, packaged as one of the most beautifully photographed and framed films of the year. The power of the film is only fully felt if the viewer notices what is being presented is not so easy to label as it looks at first sight. This explicit erotic tale focuses on the adventures of the mysterious Giulia (Loredana Cannata). Her identity is never entirely revealed. There are video recordings of ‘confessions’ that intercut the film, but the question remains: who is she? Just a pretty woman looking for sexual adventures? A nymphomaniac, a rich and maybe married woman? At the start we see how she meets Valerio, a young student of letters. She takes him to a chic coastal mansion (hers?) where they have sex. She also gives him her phone number, but when he tries to call her, the number turns out to be wrong. While he tries to find Giulia, we see her meet several other men. Valerio’s attempts to make serious contact with the object of his desires send the many sexual encounters in an unexpected direction. This yields a confusing portrait of love: honest, distant and full of mysterious physicality. –IFFR