BREAKING AWAY
Directed by Peter Yates
Screenplay by Steve Tesich
Dave (Dennis Christopher) is a gangly, nice-looking blond kid, just out of high school, still living at home and wondering what he ought to do with his life. He is, or should be, about as typical in looks and problems as a teen-ager can be. Except for this one quirk: though his background is middle-class and Middle Western—strictly white bread—he has taken to speaking with a heavy Italian accent. From his room comes the sound of Italian opera and language lessons, he has renamed the...