Margherita is an Italian director struggling to concentrate on her movie despite a distracting situation at home with an ailing mother. Her challenges reach new levels at work and home as the lead actor is too hot for her to handle amidst the deteriorating health of her mother and it starts affecting her composure. Does she have what it takes to handle the demands, is what the rest of the movie focusses on.

Language:
Italian
Running Time:
106 min
Rating:
R
Release date:
16 April 2015
Directed by:
Nanni Moretti
Produced by:
Nanni Moretti
Domenico Procacci
Written by:
Gaia Manzini
Nanni Moretti
Valia Santella
Chiara Valerio
Starring:
Margherita Buy
John Turturro
Nanni Moretti
Music by:
–
Shot by:
Arnaldo Catinari
Editing by:
Clelio Benevento
Distributed by:
01 Distribution

What’s Hot

  • When the film maker wants the audience to feel the plight of the lead character emotionally at home and work, it turns out to be an intelligent choice by Nanni Moretti to use screenplay as a tool. Alternating sequences showing the making her film during the day and those she spends with her ailing mother during the night make the audience feel empathetic towards the character while helping break monotony as well.
  • Margherita leaves no stone unturned to ensure that she remains in control of her skills and her role demanded nothing short, being the pivotal character. She literally lives the character to make it look so convincing in every facet – a director, a mother, a sister, a daughter – all of which have their own complications.
  • The air of humour amidst all the pain and suffering is just about the right medicine to lighten up things a bit. John Turturro as Barry Huggins, the self-focussed American actor who throws tantrums, is too good to ignore as he sets the screen on fire with his energy. The way he matures and settles into the crew is another well executed manoeuvre that engages the audience even more.

What’s Not

  • For an averagely paced emotional drama, we felt the music and accompaniments were a touch low key and pretty flat. The numerous little though provoking spaces opened up by the story, looked bland as a result and left the audience stone faced we should say and killed the impact they could have had otherwise.

Badges

Screenplay
Direction
Acting

Screened at

The Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) 2015

The Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) 2015 scheduled from Jan 6 -13, 2016 is an annual film festival organised by a film society, the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF), with the support of the government of Tamil Nadu, the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce and the Film Federation of India.

Event Info

Date of Screening : 09-Jan-2016
Venue and Time : Woodlands, 7 PM

About

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

Mia Madre is a heartfelt account of a woman being torn apart between a demanding work environment and an equally stressful personal life – a stunning compilation of the emotions made possible by diligent acting and a dexterous story presentation!