Rome in the 1970s. Clara (Penélope Cruz) and her husband no longer love each other but are incapable of leaving. Distraught, Clara finds refuge in the complicit relationship she maintains with her three children, particularly with the eldest, born in a body that does not correspond to him. Ignoring judgments, Clara will instill fantasy and transmit the taste for freedom, to the detriment of family balance…
“As one film critic put it precisely, Penélope Cruz shines ’like a cross between Sophia Loren and a solar flare’. The director admits – to tell such an epic story of childhood, he had to not only reach creative maturity but also find the perfect mother – the actress, who would allow children to open up on the set. It is a marvel to watch her on the big screen simultaneously delivering deep motherly love and the captivating energy of Italian pop classics. And the musical fantasies are just like candies, which we all deserve for coming back to the cinemas!” (Ignė Smilingytė)
World Premiere: Venice Film Festival, Competition, 2022
Director's biography:
Emanuele Crialese (b. 1965 Rome) studied filmmaking at New York University. In 1997 he made his feature film debut at Sundance Film Festival with Once We Were Strangers. In 2002 his second film, Respiro, won the Semaine de la Critique at Cannes and was one of the best-selling Italian films of the decade and a major success worldwide. In Venice film festival he presented Nuovomondo (2006, Kino Pavasaris) and Terraferma (2011), which picked up the Special Jury Prize there.
Language: Italian
Subtitles: Lithuanian, English
