One of three films at the Italian Cinema Day hosted by VTIFF and VICA.
See also The Truffle Hunters and Big Night
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Crialese’s largely autobiographical work (he came out as trans during the première of the film at the Venice Film Festival), is a portrait of a dysfunctional family in 1970s Rome. Penélope Cruz stars as Clara, Spanish ex-pat, an unhappily married mother of three coping with mental health issues. The core of the story involves her eldest child, Adriana/Andrea (played by newcomer Luana Giuliani), a trans boy who lacks the language to describe his gender dysphoria and simply tells adults that he’s an alien from another galaxy. Clara focuses her attention on the kids, connecting with them by channeling her own inner child. The song and dance sequences she has with the kids, especially the opening scene to Raffaella Carrà’s 70s chart hit Rumore/Si, Ci Sto, are quite spectacular; they and other flights of fancy, counter the undertones of bleakness and depression.