Italian Film Festival: Classmates (Domani interrogo)

Click here if you liked this article 0

https://italianfilmfestival.com.au/session-times?movie=iff26-classmates

Date Reviewed: 26/09/2026

“Classmates” is an Italian film that does not cover any groundbreaking territory. Its’s set in a high school as a class of difficult students approach their final exams. The result is a slow and gritty look at the real lives of these young people.

It should come as no surprise that this film is actually based on an autobiographical novel by Gaja Cenciarelli. Herbert Simone Paragnani meanwhile, adapts this story for the silver screen. Umberto Riccioni Carteni directs this piece, which annoyingly includes scenes where the students break the fourth wall to tell us what becomes of their lives. It is rather annoying to watch this, as it gives the game away and they also sit there describing their personalities, it is a case of telling us rather than showing us as a film ought to.

Anna Ferzetti stars as the teacher in this film who is only known as ‘Professoressa.’  The role is quite reminiscent of the one Michelle Pfeiffer played in “Dangerous Minds.”  Here, Ferzetti plays a middle-class woman who is determined to see her unruly class succeed in their last school exams.

In the course of the film, we are introduced to the different students. They begin by perceiving themselves only as “garbage” in a school that isn’t much better. They have to contend with the typical issues that teens would face in a working-class neighbourhood: poverty, broken homes, violence, and drugs. It is Professoressa who is the consistent optimist who only highlights their potential rather than dwell on their shortcomings.

The actors in this film do a good job with the source material. This is even more impressive when we realise that many of them are quite new to the acting game. But where things fall over is in the very slow pacing. It ultimately makes for quite a boring and forgettable film overall. 

“Classmates” may appeal to audiences who are interested in real-life dramas, and the teacher/student dynamic and how it plays out both inside an outside the classroom. But for the rest of us, this is quite a generic story with absolutely nothing new and no surprises. It is ultimately yet another film that can be added to an already long list of classroom dramas where an inspiring teacher is at the forefront highlighting the power an inspiring teacher can have on a good education. But don’t forget that you can always watch “Dead Poet’s Society” if you want that sort of thing…

Review by Natalie Salvo

Classmates plays as part of the St. Ali Italian Film Festival