Edwige Fenech and Gabriele Lavia, the odd couple in the new film by Pupi Avati

The meeting of two distant worlds: Edwige Fenechthe icon of sexy comedies of the 70s and 80s, and one of the most recognized actors of our theater, Gabriel Lavia. In the movies of Pupi Avati everything is possible, and ne The fourteenth Sunday of ordinary time (in theaters from today) the polar opposite actors perform together.

I am Marzio and Sandra, a man who as a young man (Lodo Guenzi) fell in love with the most beautiful woman in Bologna and married her. But he is too jealous and does nothing but push away that girl who will mark his life. Thirty years later, the two meet again during a friend’s funeral and time runs backwards, in the folds of their lives. A past that has to do with Pupi Avati, his Bologna, his personal life and his marriage celebrated on June 24, 1964. Behind the character of Marzio there is much of the director.

«This is my most sincere film», the director confesses to us, «the fact that at the end of the screening my wife sobbed is emblematic. I tell a series of events that marked our marriage: that day was the happiest of my life because I believed that conquering the most beautiful girl in Bologna was enough to ensure perennial happiness. But she didn’t go that way. There are dreams, ambitions and life that flows».

Go ahead he also put in the film the memory of his father (played by Cesare Bocci) with whom he always felt inadequate, the story of betrayals between friends and in love and that of jealousy. “During my relationship with my wife I made her go through some embarrassing moments”, admits the director, “when we went to the cinema I checked who was close to her”. As for the betrayal Avanti reveals to us: «I believe that betrayal, whether in a friendship or as a couple, is almost an obligatory step, it is something that makes you grow, it is a kind of vaccine. I know it seems strange to say it, but if you can overcome it you are more aware of your feeling ».

For Avati the pinnacle of happiness was marriage with his wife, for Edwige and Gabriele? «When my son and grandchildren were born», replies the actress. «I agree», adds the colleague, «the children give you worries, while the grandchildren give you only love. Her parents make the effort for her ». The theater is also an integral part of his life: “I couldn’t do without it,” says the actor.

Edwige Fenech and Gabriele Lavia form a strange acting couple. «This abysmal distance magically united them», comments Avati, «they immediately tuned in and have a crazy affinity. «Edwige Fenech is one of the best people you have ever met», says Lavia, “Wonderful». “For me, making a film with two masters was the icing on the cake,” concludes the actress.