Stay as You Are

Stay as You Are (1978), directed by Alberto Lattuada, is an Italian romantic drama that explores love, desire, and the complications of age and societal expectations. The film follows the passionate and unconventional affair between Lorenzo, a successful architect in his forties, and Francesca, a young and alluring woman just entering adulthood, highlighting the tension between personal desire and moral constraints.

Lorenzo, portrayed by Marcello Mastroianni, is a charismatic and worldly man, confident in his sophistication and professional success, yet emotionally vulnerable in matters of the heart. Francesca, played by Nastassja Kinski, embodies youthful beauty, spontaneity, and curiosity, drawn to Lorenzo's experience and charm. Their relationship begins as a chance encounter and quickly evolves into an intense romance, filled with both tenderness and sexual passion. The film examines their growing attachment while addressing the ethical and emotional dilemmas posed by their age difference and social norms.

The narrative is punctuated by moments of sensuality, intimacy, and emotional conflict, exploring themes of love, obsession, and the fear of loss. Lorenzo grapples with the responsibilities of his established life, while Francesca navigates her own emerging identity and desires. The film also touches upon the societal judgment surrounding relationships that deviate from conventional expectations, emphasizing the tension between private passion and public perception.

Alberto Lattuada's direction balances eroticism with psychological depth, employing elegant cinematography that captures both the allure of the characters and the emotional landscapes they inhabit. The score and visual style enhance the film's romantic and dramatic tones, creating a mood of longing, uncertainty, and fleeting happiness.

Stay as You Are is ultimately a meditation on love, desire, and the complexities of human connection. Its exploration of age, morality, and passion, combined with strong performances by Mastroianni and Kinski, make it a compelling study of the contradictions and vulnerabilities inherent in intimate relationships. The film remains a memorable example of Italian romantic drama from the late 1970s.

Review written by artist jayakumar jrain.

"Stay as You Are" was Nastassja Kinski's fifth film following the 1975 Wim Wenders, "The Wrong Move," a so-so 1976 "To the Devil...a Daughter," and the two forgettable's: 1977 "Only For Your Love" and the 1978 "Boarding School." It is an Italian film of the time with its own mores with respect to extra marital affairs - a repeated undercurrent in many Italian films. "Stay as You Are" follows an older man who is contemplating an affair with a young girl, Nastassja Kinski, who is the same age as his own daughter but with the complication that Nastassja may actually be his real daughter from an affair of twenty years ago. A good European director can finesse this sort of situation. Most American directors would be over their heads and would be fortunate if they could tread water because the subject would be taboo in the American market. The actor is the legendary Marcello Mastroianni who at the time would have been 54. In viewing her early films, it is hard to not conclude that Nastassja has a birth year of 1959 and not the claimed 1961 because of her physical development. Perhaps she was just precocious. That would have placed her at nineteen for this film. The next year would give us Roman Polanski's "Tess" and "Stay as You Are" was a good prelude because it showed that, even at her young age, Nastassja had the screen presence to carry movies on her own opposite one of the European super stars of the time. The VHS tape that I saw was dubbed into English with neither voices matching either Nastassja's or Mastroianni's actual voices. For me, it is better to watch a movie in its native language with English subtitles, unless the principal actors do their own dubbing. An awful example of English dubbing is the French movie "La Femme Nikita." The voice is an integral part of an actor's screen presence, unless playing a mute like Nastassja did in "The Wrong Move." Some actors always sound the same, movie after movie. Nastassja Kinski is able to change her voice, according to the the needs of her role. She is one of very few actresses who is fluent in multiple languages. In "To the Devil...a Daughter" it is English, "The Blonde" it is Italian, "Moon in the Gutter" it is French, "Terminal Velocity" there is a little Russian. The bulk of her movies are in English. "Faraway, So Close" there is both German and English. "Paris, Texas" has Nastassja in a convincing Texan accent in which one would be hard pressed to know from the voice that it is she.

Marcello Mastroianni always seems to bring a signature vulnerability whose intensity varies with the role. These characters are usually thoughtful and contemplative with an edge of awkwardness. Another way of putting it, is that these roles usually have depth. In "Stay as You Are" Mastroianni is almost entirely reactive to Nastassja's character. At first, he pursues her, then she pursues him because she likes older man. Then it is back and forth. Nastassja has to carry the movie. Sometimes she is flighty and silly. Other times she is serious. Her physical beauty is easily matched by her acting talent. Her movements are fluid, sometimes discontinuous, and her face ever changing as appropriate to the situation. Nastassja Kinski is a great natural actress who makes everything look easy. Her performances are always intelligent with a screen savviness that can be mesmerizing.

"Stay as You Are" is a tender romantic jewel that is difficult to find on VHS tape and expensive, if found. Along with "The Wrong Move," it would benefit from a first class transfer onto DVD with commentaries from Wim Wenders and Nastassja Kinski. I would have to include both "The Wrong Move" and "Stay as You Are" in any list of her core set of movies. There is a region 2 DVD widescreen version that is playable on a computer DVD, but it is in Italian with no English subtitles. With its not unexpected symmetry, "Stay as You Are" and Nastassja Kinski is cinema magic.

I can't blame anyone if they hated it. If you read the synopsis, it doesn't sound just weird/strange, but even perverse. This doesn't play like that, though, i mean this is almost a bittersweet comedy/drama about a middle-aged man and his midlife crisis (Or should i say, his escape from a miserable life?). Mastroianni is great and charismatic as ever. And Kinski is, let's say, beautiful. It is a fun ride, i was enjoying a lot Mastroianni's "struggles". At its core, as i said, this is a comedy/drama/romance. No way this movie could be made nowdays and i am fine with this, but i am glad i watched it. Nothing too fancy, not a MUST WATCH. Just a good movie if you don't take it too seriously.