L’immensità

Sunday 17th September 5pm

Synopsis

Sometimes life just seems too big to cope with, and this film follows a family where that is all too true. Centred on the mother, Clara (Penelope Cruz) who is cracking up trying to keep here family together; trying to ignore her husband's extra marital shenanigans and trying to understand her eldest daughter, Adriana, who - if she only knew it back in 1970 Rome where this is set - is suffering from gender dysphoria and insists on being called Andrea.

Clara's way of coping is to identify with her children, and behaving like them - running through the streets shouting, even hiding under the table at a dinner party. There is still time for some beautiful tender moments with them, and, of course, being played by Penelope Cruz does help — she is fast building a reputation for these parts.

The character of Andrea is loosely based on director Emanuele Crialese's younger life, so he does empathise with his/her experience, giving the film a realistic feel. This is aided by some great acting from Luana Guiliani who plays Andrea "Sloe-eyed newcomer Giuliani, who identifies as a cisgender female in real life, is remarkable in a role that requires equal measures of innocence, sensitivity, and anger" - Steve Davis, Austin Chronicle.

Critics

“'L'immensità' lives up to its title: It's a small but all-encompassing portrait of how life feels in a certain time and place - when the broken pieces of one's true self are invisibly coming together, even when getting them to fit feels too overwhelming to contemplate”

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

“The force of Cruz’s charisma — she’s like a cross between Sophia Loren and a solar flare — is more than enough to justify spending time with the family.”

Wendy Ide,screen International

Trailer

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