From veteran director Nanni Moretti (The Son’s Room, Caro Diario) comes a touching new film with sprinklings of comedy that focuses on a filmmaker in crisis, desperately working to balance the production of her new film with visits to her dying mother.
Margherita is a self-absorbed, temperamental, angst-ridden director, focused on creating an apolitical film about factory workers at odds with management employing the talents of a famous American actor (John Turturro). The American is not only incredibly difficult on set, but does not speak enough Italian to meet the demands of his role. At the same time, Margherita’s personal life is in great turmoil. She is in the process of moving out of her boyfriend’s apartment, parenting her teenage daughter and caring for her hospitalized mother. As the lines between her professional and personal lives cross, Margherita must reconcile those things that are within her control against the inevitability of life. Not only a powerful exploration of loss, Mia Madre balances the drama with moments of hilarity, delivering a film that is equally witty and warm, and incredibly moving.
DIRECTOR: Nanni Moretti CAST: Margherita Buy, John Turturro, Giulia Lazzarini, Beatrice Mancini LANGUAGE: Italian, English COUNTRY: Italy, France YEAR: 2015 LENGTH: 106 min
