Production

Direction and Screenplay

The film was directed by David Joseph Craig and Brian Crano, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Crano is known for his work on television series such as Simply Plimpton . Craig has previously worked primarily as an actor. He has appeared in films such as All These Small Moments and The Prodigal Son in smaller roles. Like their protagonists, Craig and Crano are married. Crano has already cast his husband in a leading role in his second feature film Permission.

Cast and Filming

Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells play Dom and Cole in the lead roles. Paolo Romano plays Daniele, an old friend of Dom’s father, whom they visit in Italy. Arcangelo Iannace plays the farmer who helps them. Nunzia Schiano plays the role of restaurant owner Zia Luciana. Morgan Spector plays her son Massimo and Eleanora Romandini plays his fiancée Francesca. Amanda Seyfried plays Candace, the woman whose child Dom and Cole want to adopt, in a supporting role. Other roles were cast with Giuseppe Attanasio and Cecilia Dazzi.Cinematographer Lowell A. Meyer has most recently worked on films such as The Chaos Cop by Jim Cummings, Greener Grass by Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe and, together with Jarin Blaschke, on the thriller Knock at the Cabin by M. Night Shyamalan.

Music

The film music was composed by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, who have worked together on a number of films in the past, including The Gift, The Prodigal Son, The Discovery, Wolfpack, Edison and God’s Creatures.

Release Days

The film premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 8, 2024, Overlook Film Festival on April 4, 2024, and Frameline Film Festival on June 22, 2024. In August 2024, Vertical acquired distribution rights to the film in North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, planning to theatrically release it in early 2025. The film was released in the United States on June 6, 2025

Reception

Alison Foreman of IndieWire gave the film a rating of A- and she wrote, “Outrageously snappy and unapologetically fun, I Don’t Understand You is a must-see for anyone who likes queer romance, horror-comedy, and/or hot Italians.”

Rocco T. Thompson of Daily Dead gave the film a movie score of 3.5/5 and wrote, “I Don’t Understand You is lighter fare for horror fans, but has bloody surprises in store for those willing to take this very bad, very funny trip. See it with your nearest and dearest and plenty of Grappa. Salute!”

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter gave a positive feedback to the film and he said, “A gay adoption comedy that veers off into travel porn before taking a hard left into dark fish-out-of-water farce, I Don’t Understand You is a lot fresher and more enjoyable than its generic title might suggest.”

However, Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com had a negative reaction to the film and he said, “Making a movie in which Americans basically carve a path of destruction in another country requires a truly deft tonal hand, and this one just doesn’t make sense.”