Would a film about personal loss put you off? If the answer is no, absolutely watch this: it's great. It's not by chance that Cahier de Cinema awarded it the title of best film of 2015. Forget the complacency and "faciloneria" of so much of Italian cinema: Mia Madre is a very deep film which gets its emotional tone bang on the money: it's sad, but not without a sense of humour; it's heartfelt, but never maudlin. The exactitude of some moments is breathtaking: the dream-like scene of the queue in front of the movie theatre, for example, about revisiting memories, and about personal identity, gives me goosebumps each time I see it. The tragedy and triviality of existence, the passing of time, human relationships -- everything is focused through the imperfect, but revealing, lens of the middle age crisis of the protagonist. Eventually we get to understand and love her, her difficult juggling of many personas, her honesty.
This is a movie set and made in Italy but it's truly European in quality and tone. If you can get past the seriousness of the theme, I promise you you won't get bored for one single scene. I am glad we have Nanni Moretti, he's truly a national treasure.
