Taglines: Anything Can Happen When You’re In … Virgin Territory.
Virgin Territory is a romantic comedy film 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. The film’s Italian title Decameron Pie pays tribute to both the title of the original source inspiration and to U.S. 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.
The film is set in Tuscany 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 moment 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 is Pampinea’s fiance who she has never met. Their fate intertwine with each other 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 retain her life was to marry him, according to Gerbino himself.
Lorenzo was being chased by Gerbino after he bested him at a gamble table, then took refuge in a Convent by posing as a “deaf & 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, informs the convent’s Holy Mother of his deception, that he is actually neither deaf nor dumb.
The Count, arrives at 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 Melissa—Pampinea’s best friend, who’s on her way to attend the wedding—and the two subsequently fall in love. The Count is led to believe Melissa 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 who’s 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 Melissa) 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 get married to Count Dzerzhinsky, only to realise moments later that the Count himself is actually in love with Melissa 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, together with all of their friends.
Virgin Territory (2008)
Directed by: David Leland
Starring: Hayden Christensen, Mischa Barton, Christopher Egan, Tim Roth, Silvia Colloca, Simone Spinazze, Sasha Mesina, Riccardo Merra, Clive Riche, Diego Guerra
Screenplay by: David Leland
Production Design by: Jim Clay
Cinematography by: Ben Davis
Film Editing by: Jim Clark
Costume Design by: Roberto Cavalli
Set Decoration by: Cynthia Sleiter
Art Direction by: Marco Trentini
Music by: Ilan Eshkeri
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, nudity and some language.
Studio: The Weinstein Company
Release Date: August 28, 2008
Visits: 88
