Mia Madre ("My Mum") is a typical Italian offering – a story that has no beginning and no end
but the bits in between are absolutely delightful and totally absorbing.
Mia Madre is filled with unforgettable characters. At its heart is Margherita, (played by Margherita Buy), a middle-aged film director who has made any number of gritty Italian 'socially aware' movies in the style of a Ken Loach or Mile Leigh. She is now questioning whether her films really work and if they make any difference to an indifferent world.
She is having problems with her latest effort, a film about a factory whose workers are on strike and is being taken over by a rich Italian/American. She has trouble with the production and camera crews and is having a nightmare with an Italian/American actor, Barry, brought in to play the new factory owner, and who continually forgets his lines.
She has broken up with her partner and cannot relate to her teenage daughter. But the biggest problem is her mother, who is in hospital dying; but mum hasn't been told she is dying and wants to go home.
It's enough to drag down most people in a mid-life crisis and it very nearly does for Margherita. There are some wonderful scenes between Margherita and her mother and with her ex-partner, and her brother, both of whom are distressed with Mum's condition.
Then there is the interplay with her daughter who is being rebellious but is also emotionally affected by her Grandmother's condition.
From time to time, Margherita has flashbacks of her mother in better times when she was a highly regarded lecturer at a university. She sadly speculates on what will happen to hundreds of books owned by her mother after she dies.
Amidst all this, the film production stumbles on, and relations between Margherita and star actor Barry get worse and worse, with Barry 'blowing up' on set and later Margherita telling him just what she thinks of him in words that leave little to the imagination.
She has a heart-to-heart with her ex-partner and she becomes distraught by the realisation that she has been cold and unfeeling to her ex-partner and also to her family, friends and work colleagues – in fact to everyone.
It's a wonderful mishmash of emotions and strong personalities, and the great acting brings these characters alive and makes you want to know what happens. As I said, it doesn't really have any ending, but it does have closure of sorts, and the film will leave you feeling quite satisfied, as good Italian films always do.
Mia Madre won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at last year's Cannes Film Festival, and at a running time of 1 hour 45 minutes, it will uplift your spirits and give you much food for thought.
