🎬 MOVIE REVIEW: Cheeky (Trasgredire, 2000)
Directed by: Tinto Brass
Starring: Yuliya Mayarchuk, Jarno Berardi, Francesca Nunzi
Genre: Erotic Comedy / Satire
Verdict: 3 / 5 Stars — A vibrant, unapologetically buoyant celebration of hedonism that showcases Tinto Brass’s signature visual flair at its peak.
Overview & Narrative
Released at the turn of the millennium, Cheeky (Trasgredire) represents Italian erotic auteur Tinto Brass in his most playful, colorful element. Set against the sun-drenched backdrop of Venice and London, the film follows Carla (Yuliya Mayarchuk), a free-spirited, wildly confident young Italian woman searching for an apartment in London while maintaining a long-distance relationship with her fiancé, Matteo (Jarno Berardi).
When Carla becomes entangled in a series of flirtatious, highly stylized encounters with her landlord, Mario, and his wife, she decides to test the boundaries of fidelity, pleasure, and emotional ownership. Rather than falling into tragedy or deceit, Carla uses her newfound liberation to redefine the rules of her relationship with Matteo on her own unapologetic terms.
Directorial Vision & Aesthetic Style
By 2000, Tinto Brass had fully perfected his visual grammar, and Cheeky stands out as one of his most visually polished late-career entries:
Pop-Art Venice & Bright Aesthetics: Moving away from the gritty political edge of his 1960s work (Deadly Sweet), Brass constructs a hyper-saturated, almost comic-book universe. Venice is framed not as a dark, historical monument, but as an electric, sunlit playground of color, grand architecture, and breezy waterways.
Voyeuristic Camera & Rhythmic Editing: Brass’s camera remains dynamic and uninhibited. Utilizing wide-angle lenses, rapid zooms, and rhythmically synced editing, the film captures sensuality with a slapstick, joyful tempo rather than brooding darkness.
Celebration of Joy Over Guilt: What sets Cheeky apart from mainstream erotic thrillers of the era is its complete rejection of moral punishment. Brass frames desire not as a dangerous taboo that leads to destruction, but as a healthy, exuberant expression of life and personal autonomy.
Performances & Legacy
Ukrainian actress Yuliya Mayarchuk delivers a magnetic, effervescent performance as Carla, carrying the entire film with infectious charisma, physical comedy, and effortless screen confidence. Her dynamic with Jarno Berardi grounds the story in a lighthearted, romantic energy that keeps the film moving at a light, breezy pace.
While critics unfamiliar with Brass's broader filmography often dismiss Cheeky as pure fluff, cult cinema scholars recognize it as a quintessential example of post-modern erotic satire. It is a film that knows exactly what it wants to be: a colorful, unabashedly hedonistic ode to freedom and visual pleasure.
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