The Rebel is a 1993 Italian

Cinema of Italy

The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...

 drama film

Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

, originally released as based on the novel 'Storia di Enza', which was written and adapted by the film's director, Aurelio Grimaldi

Aurelio Grimaldi

Aurelio Grimaldi is an Italian film director and screenwriter. His film The Whores was entered into the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* Ragazzi fuori * The Rebel * The Whores...

. It stars Spanish actress Penélope Cruz

Penélope Cruz

Penélope Cruz Sánchez is a Spanish actress. Signed by an agent at age 15, she made her acting debut at 16 on television and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón, jamón , to critical acclaim...

. It also features Stefano Dionisi, Lorenza Indovina and Marco Leonardi

Marco Leonardi

Marco Leonardi is an Italian actor.Leonardi was born in Australia to Italian parents. He moved to Italy at the age of four and starred in the famous movie Cinema Paradiso and in the Mexican movie Like Water for Chocolate . He has made several movies in the United States, such as Once Upon a Time...

. In Italian, the language the film was originally released in, the film is titled La Ribelle.

Plot summary

Enza, 16, a drop out, is arrested with her older sister, Rosaria, for shoplifting. They're sent to a reformatory run by hard-nosed nuns. The girls tease Enza because she's a virgin. So, on the first Sunday she's allowed a pass, she goes to bed with Sebastiano, a young street vendor who chats her up. Enza thinks it's love, but when the authorities ask him if he wants her to live with him, he says no. On her next visit home, Enza meets Franchino. He seems nicer and passes her test: he sleeps beside her but keeps his hands off. This must be love, she thinks. Then, through her sister, she sees another side of Franchino. Now pregnant, Enza has major, long-term decisions to make.