What? (Che?, also variously titled Quoi?, Was?, and Diary of Forbidden Dreams) is a 1972 comedy film co-written and directed by Roman Polanski and starring Sydne Rome, Marcello Mastroianni, Hugh Griffith and Romolo Valli.
Contents
Plot
Set in an unnamed coastal city in Italy, the film tells a story of an American girl, Nancy, who takes shelter in a villa filled with strange guests. There, she gets into a relationship with a retired pimp, Alex.
Cast
Sydne Rome as Nancy
Marcello Mastroianni as Alex
Hugh Griffith as Joseph Noblart
Romolo Valli as Giovanni
Roman Polanski as Mosquito (Uncredited)
Guido Alberti as Priest
Gianfranco Piacentini as Tony
Carlo Delle Piane as Young Oaf #1 in Car
Mario Bussolino as Young Oaf #2 in Car
Henning Schlüter as Catone
Christiane Barry as Dresser
Pietro Tordi as Man-Servant
Nerina Montagnani as Chambermaid
Mogens von Gadow as German
Dieter Hallervorden as German
Elisabeth Witte as Baby
John Karlsen as Edward
Roger Middleton as Jimmy
Alvaro Vitali
Franco Pesce
Renate Langer as Naked Girl with Hat (uncredited)
Production
In 2017, Renate Langer accused Roman Polanski of raping her in 1972, when she was 15, just before and during the filming of this movie.
Filming
The film was shot on location in Amalfi, Italy, in a villa owned by the producer, Carlo Ponti. Some of the action was improvised.
Reception
John Simon of the National Review described What? as a 'monstrous fiasco'. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times gave an apparently-reedited version titled Diary of Forbidden Dreams a half star out of four, and said the film confirmed his "long-held suspicion that, when it comes right down to it, there's a nasty streak of misogyny in Polanski."
On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a rating of 15% from 13 reviews.