The Flavor of Corn

The Flavor of Corn
Il sapore del grano
Directed by
Produced by	Chantal Lenoble-Bergamo Enzo Porcelli
Written by	Gianni Da Campo
Starring
Music by	Franco Piersanti
Cinematography	Emilio Bestetti
Production company	Antea Films & RAI
Distributed by	SACIS (Italy) Award Films (U.S.)
Release date	1986
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

The Flavor of Corn (Italian: Il sapore del grano; also known in English as The Taste of Wheat) is a 1986 Italian coming-of-age film. Written and directed by , the film stars and and follows the story of a same-sex romance that develops between a young professor and his 12-year-old student.

Lorenzo is a young man, a newly qualified teacher on his first posting, who has been appointed to a small Italian village. One of his pupils, a cute and smart 12-year-old boy named Duilio, a farmer's son, gradually grows to love Lorenzo and they become good friends but the boy wishes Lorenzo was his older brother. Lorenzo often visits Duilio's home, meets his family, and they become good friends. Lorenzo meanwhile meets a young woman, with whom he falls in love. However, the relationship with his girlfriend is not perfect and he chooses to break up with her as she is about to be married: her fiance and her agree on an open relationship. Lorenzo declines the offer. At the same time Lorenzo becomes much closer to Duilio, and they often spend time with each other. The boy is given books and other things and the boy in turn makes and gives his friend a carved boat and poems. The boy kisses his teacher in a farm building on the lips. The boy's sister returns and all three become friends. But many things change after Duilio’s stepmother begins to distrust Lorenzo and says as much to the father. Gradually at the request of the father, who knows that his son loves his teacher more than himself, they meet less often. Duilio has to work on his father's farm in the afternoon, but Duilio still needs Lorenzo and misses him. To get out of this difficult situation, Lorenzo decides to leave the village and Duilio forever. The mother realises that the teacher's feelings for the boy are pure and asks to be forgiven. The family say he is always welcome anytime. The boy knows his teacher will never return not that he can not return. The teacher rejects the idea of a loving but homosexual relationship with the boy and has to leave. The boy does not know why his friend will never come back and runs after the taxi. The teachers weeps at the lost love with a boy who tells him everything and trusts him totally.

Upon its release in North America, the film received positive reviews for its sensitive portrayal of the romantic relationship that develops between a first year school teacher and his adolescent admirer. Allrovi commended the film's handling of its delicate subject matter writing, "This drama addresses with great care the awakening of homosexual desire in a 12-year-old boy."The Seattle Times lauded the film for being "unflinchingly honest" and the San Francisco Bay Area Reporter described the story as "fascinating", adding that the film "approaches its forbidden topic with an even hand and a warm heart." In September 2012, a "special event" screening of the film was arranged as part of a 1980s retrospective at the 17th Milano Film Festival, which touted the film as a "hidden jewel" that managed to avoid the familiar tropes and clichés employed by other films of the genre.