Virgin Territory
Virgin Territory is a 2007 romantic comedy film directed by David Leland and starring Hayden Christensen, Mischa Barton, Tim Roth, Rosalind Halstead and Kate Groombridge.[2] Based upon Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron, it has also been known under the working titles The Decameron, Angels and Virgins, Guilty Pleasures and Chasing Temptation.[3] The film's Italian title Decameron Pie pays tribute to both the title of the original source inspiration and to American comedy film American Pie. The film was released in France on December 12, 2007, under the title Medieval Pie, and was released directly-to-DVD in the U.S. in August 2008. It was the last film produced by Dino De Laurentiis.[4]
| Virgin Territory | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Leland |
| Written by | David Leland |
| Based on | Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio |
| Produced by | Tarak Ben Ammar Roberto Cavalli Dino De Laurentiis Martha De Laurentiis |
| Starring | Hayden Christensen Mischa Barton Tim Roth |
| Narrated by | Craig Parkinson |
| Cinematography | Ben Davis |
| Music by | Ilan Eshkeri |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Eagle Pictures (Italy)[1] Quinta Communications (France)[1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Countries | Italy United Kingdom France Luxembourg |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $5.4 million[1] |
Plot
The film is set in Florence (Republic of Florence) during the Black Death. As in the Decameron, ten young Florentines take refuge from the plague. But instead of telling stories, they have lusty adventures, bawdy exchanges, romance and swordplay. There are randy nuns, Saracen pirates, and a sexy cow.
Pampinea is the daughter of a wealthy merchant who has died moments before the start of the movie. Lorenzo is a young man in town who is exceptionally good at gambling and is charmed by her beauty. Gerbino De Ratta is the head of the local thugs who robs anyone or steals anything that he sees stealable. Count Dzerzhinsky, from the city of Novgorod in Novgorod Republic now in modern Russia, is Pampinea's fiancé who she has never met. Their fate intertwines after Pampinea's father died and Gerbino robs Pampinea of her fortune, saying her father was in debt. The only way for the merchant's daughter to save her life was to marry him, according to Gerbino himself.
Lorenzo was being chased by Gerbino after he bested him at a gambling table, then took refuge in a convent by posing as a "deaf and dumb" gardener. At this convent, he has sex with all of the horny nuns, but only until Pampinea's arrival. Pampinea—trying to escape from Gerbino's grasp—ran to the convent for shelter. There she witnesses Lorenzo, whom she'd long had feelings for, having sex with the nuns and get jealous. She blindfolds Lorenzo and kisses him passionately out of love. But then, out of jealousy, she informs the convent's abbess of his deception, that he is actually neither deaf nor dumb.
The Count arrives in Florence only to be ambushed by Gerbino's men. All of his companions are killed, but he survives. Receiving a message from Pampinea's servant, Count Dzerzhinsky rides to Pampinea's father's mansion for the wedding, for he has been promised her hand in marriage. On the way, the young Count meets a skinny dipping Elissa—Pampinea's best friend, who is on her way to attend the wedding—and the two subsequently fall in love. The Count is led to believe Elissa is Pampinea.
Chased out of the convent, Lorenzo follows Pampinea to her father's mansion. There he confesses to her that he's fallen in love with the nun who kissed him whilst blindfolded, the woman whose face he never got to see. Later, Gerbino and his men arrive at the mansion and imprison Lorenzo. Pampinea agrees to marry Gerbino right that day to save Lorenzo, and thus Lorenzo is banished to the woods. There he meets Dzerzhinsky who is on his way to the mansion to be married to 'Pampinea' (actually Elissa) and the two team up to take out Gerbino's men. Gerbino himself dies falling into a large deep well inside the mansion.
Pampinea, in love with Lorenzo, refuses to marry Count Dzerzhinsky, only to realise moments later that the Count himself is actually in love with Elissa who has been posing as her. She happily then runs after Lorenzo and kisses him. Lorenzo realises that she is in fact the nun he's in love with and they hold their wedding that very day, with all of their friends attending.
Cast
- Hayden Christensen - Lorenzo de Lamberti
- Mischa Barton - Pampinea Anastargi
- Tim Roth - Gerbino Della Ratta
- Ryan Cartwright - Ghino
- Rosalind Halstead - Filomena
- Kate Groombridge - Elissa
- Christopher Egan - Dioneo
- Nigel Planer - Uncle Bruno
- Matthew Rhys - Count Dzerzhinsky
- Rupert Friend - Alessandro Felice
- Silvia Colloca - Sister Lisabetta
- Anna Galiena - The Abbess
- Elisabetta Canalis - Nun
- Craig Parkinson - Tindaro
Soundtrack
- Wolfman and the Side-Effects — "For Lovers" (featuring Pete Doherty)
- Martina Topley-Bird — "Bless You"
- Groove Armada — "But I Feel Good"
- The Kills — "No Wow (Telephone Radio Germany)"
- Basement Jaxx — "Lucky Star" (featuring Dizzee Rascal)
- Italian X-Rays — "Art of Joy"
- Micah P. Hinson — "Don't You Forget" (featuring The Gospel of Progress)
- Blur — "Tender"
- Martina Topley-Bird — "Da Da Da Da"
References
- ^ a b c "Virgin Territory (2007)". Retrieved June 7, 2012.
- ^ "Virgin Territory (2008) - David Leland | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie" – via www.allmovie.com.
- ^ "The DECAMERON: ANGELS AND VIRGINS (2005)". BFI.
- ^ "Dino De Laurentiis | Movies and Filmography". AllMovie.
External links
- Virgin Territory at IMDb
- Virgin Territory at Rotten Tomatoes