Mia madre

Fifteen years after having made an acclaimed film about losing a child, Nanni Moretti now tackles the subject of losing a parent. 'Mia Madre' is a thinly veiled autobiographical film: Moretti's mother died while he was making his previous film, the comedy 'Habemus Papam'. To emphasize how strongly 'Mia Madre' is based on real events, the lead character in the film is a director, and the name of the mother (Ada) is very similar to Moretti's own mother's name (Agata).

There are differences too. The director is a woman, not a man, and she is directing a serious social drama, not a comedy. While she has to give all her attention to the whimsical star of her drama, an American actor played by John Turturro, she has trouble accepting the truth of her mother's deteriorating health. Her mother simply cannot die now, she tells the doctor who breaks the sad news, because she still has so many things to do.

Moretti has done a perfect job in showing how the death of a mother makes you go through an emotional roller-coaster. Margherita, the lead character, seems to be able to cope with a lot, including her lead actor making a mess of his role, but she breaks down when she wakes up at night to find her apartment flooded. It's only after such a calamity that Margherita is able to grieve. Actress Margherita Buy gives a very touching and subtle performance as the caring daughter on the one hand and determined director on the other hand.

Turturro's role as the self-indulgent but incapable actor gives the film some comic relief, a welcome change from the emotional scenes dealing with the dying mother. Also, Moretti has inserted quite a few scenes which seem to divert from reality: sometimes you realize after a while that you're watching a dream-like scene that not really happened, but gives you some insight in what Margherita thinks or feels.

'Mia Madre' is a film about strong emotions, but it never aims at cheap tear jerking effects. Moretti perfectly knows how to deal with death.