THE PRIVATE LESSON

At a college run by Catholic priests, Laura arrives as the new piano teacher. An attractive blonde, she is single and devoted to her art. Alessandro, handsome 17-year-old virgin son of a possessive mother, falls instantly in love with her. This is perceived by Emanuela, the girl who hopes to conquer him, and by Gabriele, her secretly gay brother who has the same dream. Alessandro's mother, completely unaware of these emotional cross-currents, hires Laura to give him additional lessons in their home.

Gabriele senses an opportunity when he comes across a vantage point where he can look into Laura's apartment and, borrowing a sophisticated camera, is able to take shots of her naked and playing with herself, which he then uses to blackmail her into exposing her body progressively to Alessandro. Although excited, the boy is bemused at this behaviour, while Laura is deeply humiliated.

At the end of term, Alessandro escapes this tense environment by going to stay with his earthy uncle in the country and has an encounter with a maid, which gives him sexual confidence. Going home, he starts trying his newfound skills on Emanuela, but they are interrupted and he hides in Gabriele's room. There he finds the photographs and negatives of Laura, which he takes to her. They confront Gabriele, who sees that his plot has failed, and Laura rewards her saviour with a long night together. In the morning she explains that a relationship would not work, so he goes back to an eager Emanuela.

Alessandro discovers the incriminating photographs and negatives, confronts Gabriele with Laura, and is rewarded by Laura with a night together, after which she ends the relationship and he returns to Emanuela.

The ending resolves the web of adolescent and adult entanglements by having Alessandro confront the manipulative scheme at the heart of the story. Laura's final gesture offers closure and a rite of passage for Alessandro, while her decision to end the relationship signals a return to normalcy and a nod to the consequences of crossing boundaries. It ties up the film's central conflicts with a mix of bittersweet maturity and comedic resignation.