The Key 4K 1983

The film The Key (La chiave) turned out to be a surprisingly wellcrafted erotic drama, rather than just “latenight trash. The story is simple: a husband in his 40s in Venice, unable to rekindle passion in his wife after many years of marriage, begins keeping a diary of his fantasies, leaving the key in plain sight so she will find it herself. This gradually pushes her into an affair with her daughter’s fiancé, and through this infidelity, she suddenly loosens up and, at the same time, returns to her husband a different persona freer one.

The film works not so much through its plot as through its atmosphere. The apartments, the mirrors, the soft light, Morricone’s musiceverything is built around Stefania Sandrelli’s body and the interplay of glances. Brass films candidly, but without explicit pornography: there is a lot of nudity, but there is also mood, irony, and even a slight sadness due to the aging husband, who himself sets off the chain of events and ultimately cannot bear the outcome.​

If you’re expecting a hardhitting drama, it will feel too soft and drawnout; if you approach it as aesthetic eroticism in the spirit of the ’80s, then “The Key” works perfectly: beautiful Venice, confident direction, an interesting female lead, and an honest story about how belated freedom can come at too high a price.