CLOSING NIGHT FILM What does it mean to have a beautiful, frivolous and embarrassing mother? This is the problem confronting Bruno, the protagonist of Paolo Virzì’s moving new film. Thrown out by her jealous husband while her kids are still young, Anna must draw on her strongest asset—her looks—in order to provide for Bruno and his sister Valeria. Her often blatant opportunism, resulting in a spate of wealthy men serving as dubious father figures, proves embarrassing to her sensitive son and affects his relationships later in life. When Bruno is called back to his mother’s side as a middle-aged man, he must come to terms with his difficult but charming parent in order to move forward. Using his hometown of Livorno as a backdrop once again, Virzì has come up with another humanistic winner.


Written by Francesco Bruni, Francesco Piccolo, Paolo Virzì. Photographed by Nicola Pecorini. With Valerio Mastandrea, Micaela Ramazzotti, Stefania Sandrelli. (118 min, IntraMovies)