The American Bride

Originally titled La sposa americana, this Italian drama directed by Giovanni Soldati is based on a novel by his father, the celebrated writer Mario Soldati. The film stars Stefania Sandrelli, Thommy Berggren, Harvey Keitel, and Trudie Styler in an entangled story of love, deception, and hidden sexuality.

The story follows Edoardo (Berggren), a young literature professor who marries the Czechoslovak-American Edith, but falls for her best friend Anna. Anna's own marriage to Sacha (Harvey Keitel) is a facade—a lavender marriage concealing Sacha's homosexuality. As Edoardo becomes entangled in an affair with Anna, the film reveals how lavender marriages ripple outward, affecting not just the couples involved but everyone around them.