The Night Before the Exams

The Night Before the Exams (Notte prima degli esami, 2006) is Fausto Brizzi's Italian comedy-drama, and you can watch online on iFILM. Rome, 1989, the final day of high school: Luca unloads years of resentment on his despised literature teacher Martinelli — moments before learning the man will chair his final exam board.

What follows is a summer caught between freedom and dread. Luca should be cramming, but instead he falls for a girl he met once at a party. The catch: she's Martinelli's daughter. Stranger still, the teacher himself offers to coach Luca through his finals. Nicolas Vaporidis and Cristiana Capotondi carry the romance with an easy, unforced charm.

Brizzi nails that specific end-of-school ache — the friendships, the first love, the panic about what comes next — all set to the pop songs of the year it's set in. The film became a nostalgia hit at home and spawned a sequel. It's warm, funny and a little wistful, perfect if you remember your own last night before the exams. Stream The Night Before the Exams online on iFILM.