Using experience gained as an assistant director on 8 ½ (and taking some of Fellini’s crew), Wertmüller made a debut that feels like a direct response to her mentor’s I Vitelloni: a compassionate snapshot of small town coming-of-age, Italian style. But Wertmüller’s treatment, shot for only $60,000, features a style and energy all her own, boosted by a Morricone score.

In Italian with English subtitles.