Caterina in the Big City

Caterina and her parents move from a small town in the country to a new life in Rome. In the story we meet new classmates of Caterina's and see their opposing personal, social, and political views. We see that Caterina becomes torn between the classmates.

Caterina's parents also go through their own hardships. Caterina's father, Giancarlo, was a teacher in the country town. But when they move to Rome, he teaches at a local school and tries to become a writer. In the beginning of the movie, he comes off as kind of funny. He tells his class how he really feels about them, not holding back his true feelings. The extreme negativity towards his students can make you laugh. We never see a teacher talk this way to a class.
But throughout the movie we see that he's not a happy man. He gets irritated really quickly with his wife and kid. But he wants to famous. He wants to be someone inportant. He meets the parents of Caterina's friends, who are writers and big political figures. He comes off to them as annoying. He eventually sees his wife with their new neighbor, his childhood friend, Fabietto. I expect that his constant anger and irritation at his wife eventually drove her to Fabietto.

Caterina becomes friends with two girls, Margherita and Daniela, and becomes torn between their cliques. The two girls represent two opposing political sides. Margherita is left-neaning. She seems like a spiritual person and an acitivist. She and Caterina visit rallies and graves of poets. Daniela is right-leaning. She is a free spirited party animal. She and Caterina attend parties and go on shopping sprees.
Both of these girls put Caterina into situations she's not used to, and not comfortable with. With Margherita, she drinks and gets a tattoo. With Daniela, she goes out with rich, snobby girls and unintentionally steels from a store.