Christmas time in 1980s Vicenza. And a child is born to Maria (Valentina Bellé), the spoilt and troubled wife of a wealthy doctor Osvaldo (Paolo Pierobon) . But this little girl Rebecca (Sara Ciocca) faces a lifetime of rejection simply because the birthmark flies in the face of her mother’s pride and selfishness exposing deep fault lines in this illustrious family.
La Vita Accanto is the sensitive and classically styled latest film
from award-winning director Marco Tullio Giordano who directs from a script by Marco Bellocchio (who also produces) based on the book by Mariapia Veladiano
Sadly Maria was never fulfilled despite wealth and a loving husband and when her daughter born with a facial blemish she had the perfect excuse to channel her anguish into Rebecca’s blemish making her young life fraught and miserable
Fortunately Rebecca’s aunt, a famous pianist, instills in her the love of music and restores her faith in her appearance. And her faithful friend Lucilla and her mother Beba also rebuild her confidence. Her father is also endlessly patient and kind.
With its rousing classical score and immaculate direction this is a highly intelligent and elegantly crafted drama that shows how a mother’s mental illness not only causes family dysfunction, but seriously disrupts a daughter’s wellbeing affecting her development. Crucially the body can also heal itself because medicine is not an exact science. MeredithTaylor
LOCARNO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024 |