IFF MOVIE REVIEW: MIA MADRE



5/5

It's a testing time in Margherita's life. She had just broken up with her boyfriend, there are endless problems on the set of her new movie, her daughter doesn't want to study, and on top of all her mother is dying in the hospital. What lessons, if any, are in store for Margherita, as she battles her way through this life crisis.

MIA MADRE is a slice of life movie, that echoes Fellini's "8 1/2". While it draws a lot of inspiration from that film, the movie tells its own, very personal story.   

Director Nanni Moretti mixes dreamlike sequences with a daily routine, which  creates a unique style, it sucks you in from the very beginning.

John Torturro is a welcome presence with his larger than life character Barry Huggins - an unfortunate Hollywood star that wrecks havoc on Margherita's shoot. But any comedy is quickly absorbed by sadness of Margherita's brother Giovanni, played by the director Nanni Moretti himself. His well hidden depression is a reflection of the extreme grief Margarita may succumb to at any moment. Margherita Buy as Margherita delivers the depth and emotion well, but her performance is undermined by the others around her - a true director she wants to direct not just her films but her own life, but it does rob her from being "a star" of her own story.  Margherita stumbles through her days leading to the unavoidable and is literally drowning. One of the scenes when she wakes up in a flooded apartment is a symbol of that.

The movie is hard to watch at times, especially the scenes with Margherita's fading away mother - she really is the centre of it all and the main point of unresolved conflict in the drama created around her, although she is totally oblivious to this. Margherita's mother is naturally and tenderly portrayed by a veteran actor Giulia Lazzarini.

Dealing with regrets of a middle aged life, the movie, it seems, attempts to grasp for the moment and hold it in the palm of its hand. MIA MADRE is a remarkable little film where sadness prevails over joys of life.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We'll End Up Together - Nous Finirons Ensemble (French Movie Review)

Image
10/10 Max has a sixtieth birthday coming up. The problem is he is broke, divorced and depressed. When a group of his best friends show up at his doorstep to help him celebrate, he reluctantly agrees to spend a few days with them, but won’t explain what’s going on in his personal life. When ones darkest moments come, will friendship conquer all? Seven years after the breakout success of the film Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs) comes the long anticipated sequel and it is worth the wait. The success of WE’LL END UP TOGETHER is not in its rather predictable plot, but the chemistry on screen, the characters that we recognise ourselves and our friends in, and the amazing warm atmosphere that makes one believe there’s no problem a good dinner with friends won’t sort out.  Written and directed by much loved French actor and director  Guillaume Canet this movie feels like a welcome return home to those who have seen the original and will also welcome new viewership - the film c
Read more

KOREAN MOVIE REVIEW: MEMOIR OF A MURDERER

Image
8/10 Byung-su is an elderly veterinarian who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He has a caring daughter who does all she can to make his life easier, and a policemen friend whose name Byung-su forgets from time to time. He also goes to a poetry club (in order to keep his mind exercised) where a lonely widow makes advances at him. But there’s one thing that sets Byung-su apart from the other senior citizens of his little town – he is a serial killer.  When a new wave of killings begin Byung-su starts to suspect that a young man who is dating his daughter is the culprit. Trying to keep the remains of his memories together Byung-su writes extensive journals. But what if his memories are actually real? Losing his grip on reality he goes head to head with the new serial killer in order to protect the only life he cares about in the world – his daughter’s. Before Dexter came around Koreans had excelled in creating charismatic killers as protagonists of the films
Read more

MSFF: DEATH IN BUENOS AIRES (MUERTE EN BUENOS AIRES)

Image
3 1/2 /5 It's year 1980 and we are in Buenos Aires. The wealthy gay man is murdered  and inspector Chaves is on the case. In order to find the culprit he has to plunge into the world of gay nightclubs, drugs and sex. But what is it with the young and handsome officer Gomes, who was the first on the crime scene, and seems to place himself with ease as a mole into a gay community? Is he trying to catch the killer? Or hiding something? As suspicions arise, Chaves is haunted by the feelings he does not understand. Will the fatal attraction to a younger man help him to solve the case, or be his undoing? First time director Natalie Meta is "spot on" on the upbeat atmosphere of the 80s without too much expense. She cleverly uses the pop tunes, over-the-top clothes and many other ingredients to recreate the time. The murder mystery is secondary, and the movie is focused on the relationship between the two men, full of innuendoes and mistrust. The very simple cinema
Read more