Mia Madre

I have a love-hate relationship with Nanni Moretti's films. He made many famous Italian films. Or he played in it. Or both. Il Caimano, La stanza del figlio, habemus papam en Calm chaos, after the famous book by Sandro Veronesi. His films received praise at the Cannes Film Festival. In addition to their fame in Italy, they also managed to reach a wider European audience. A true art house movie maker, Nanni Moretti. And now there's Mia Madre from his hand.

Mia Madre is dying

Mia Madre is the story of a director whose mother is dying. She works hard and also has to deal with a demanding actor at this stage of her life. In fact, there is hardly time to dwell on what is going on in her family. Her brother is more aware of what is going on. However, he lets his sister Margherita make her own choices. The director has a daughter and her relationship just broke down. She is separated from the father of her child, leaving her alone and also having the option to close her eyes to what is going on. But how long can you keep that up?

Sentimental or touching?

Margherita reacts hysterically at times. Then reality suddenly dawns on her. That is characteristic of Moretti's films. It is often about people who struggle to understand or accept reality as it is. Just like real people do in real life. An interesting theme, where big questions and themes are not shunned.

But in Italian films by Moretti, this discrepancy between wish and reality is sometimes portrayed just a little too flamboyantly. Because Italians are such extroverted people who suddenly start gesturing wildly, yelling at people who have nothing to do with it or mumbling to themselves while the world flies by.

Surrealism

Moretti can represent that surrealism well. The feeling that suddenly reality hits you. And in doing so, he stands in the tradition of great Italian film makers. In Calm chaos was it the father who sat for days on a bench in front of his daughter's school, with The stanza del figlio the evasive behavior of the family who had to accept the loss of their son and now the daughter who does not want to see her mother dying.

Top or flop?

Against my will I still had to shed a tear at this new film by Moretti. Fair is fair. It's not for nothing that this film plays in the art houses. It's a movie about really important things. Family. Love. We'll just add a little bit of the rest. And there's nothing wrong with taking a break from time to time. And that little bit of annoyance… I'm happy to take that into the bargain.

Mia Madre is available on DVD and video on demand. The cast includes John Turturro, Margherita Buy, Guilia Lazzarini and Nanni Moretti.