''My Mother's Smile'' is a 2002
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
film directed by
Marco Bellocchio
Marco Bellocchio (; born 9 November 1939) is an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor.
Life and career
Born in Bobbio, near Piacenza, Marco Bellocchio had a strict Catholic upbringing – his father was a lawyer, his mother a schoolt ...
. The original
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
title is ''L'ora di religione (Il sorriso di mia madre)'' ("The Hour of Religion (My Mother's Smile)").
Summary
The film tells the story of a man whose "martyred" mother is in the process of canonization. She had been killed by her insane son, Egidio, while she slept. However, since this death would not count as "martyrdom", and would not qualify her for sainthood, the family is claiming she had been awake, begging her son to stop blaspheming, and that she had forgiven him before she died. The story is told from the perspective of her son Ernesto, a well-known painter and an atheist. The film portrays a colorful fresco so hypocritical to Catholicism today, showing how hard it still creeps into our lives, even against our will (as the protagonist shows). He often remembers for the delivery of a blasphemy explicit narrative tension at maximum (for this reason in Italy it was rated not suitable for kids who are less than 14 years old).
Plot
Ernesto Picciafuoco, painter and illustrator of children's tales, is a part of a very important but impoverished family, which wants to regain its stature by having a member canonized. ns. The late mother of the protagonist seems to be the only true religious person in the weak and stupid family. Two of the young rebels are now in the 40s and are completely detached from the hypocrisy of religion. One of them pretends to be very religious, to get back his job. The other, the protagonist, is uncertain, beset by moral doubts, mainly because of his young son who could learn the hypocrisy from him.
The film is a journey through the absurd and surreal episodes. Ernesto, the protagonist, is contacted by a mysterious cardinal who wants to question him about the process of sanctification of the mother, about which he knew nothing until then. Then the child goes to school for the hearings with teachers, where he meets a young and charming, "religious teacher", to whom he is attracted, but that will be an impossibility. He has a discussion with a religious man appointed to investigate circumstances of "martyrdom", which asks account the non-baptism of his son, showing that he is well informed about him and trying to know why Ernest had "lost faith". Ernesto is then challenged to a duel, for petty reasons, from a noble dream of an improbable restoration of the monarchy, but the duel is interrupted after a few seconds. He talks with his aunt, who has never shown much faith, but now, attracted by possible financial gain and popularity that the family would derive from sanctification, for a purely opportunistic attempt to bring her nephew on the "right path". Meanwhile, the wife of Ernesto administers a sort of baptism to the child sleeping, anxious to repair the previous "non-". Ernesto's aunt smiles cravingly while awaiting to be seen by
his Holiness, with their familial collaborators, all but Ernesto, who prefers to walk with his child to school.
Cast
*
Sergio Castellitto - Ernesto Picciafuocco
*
Jacqueline Lustig - Irene Picciafuocco
*
Chiara Conti Chiara is a word and place name of Italian origin, meaning "bright" or "clear", and may refer to:
People
* Chiara (name)
* Chiara da Montefalco, (1268–1308), an Augustinian nun and abbess
* Chiara (Italian singer) or Chiara Galiazzo (born 1986 ...
- Diana Sereni
*
Gigio Alberti
Gigio Alberti (born 19 June 1956) is an Italian actor.
Background
Born in Milan as Luigi Alberti, he studied at the acting school of the Piccolo Teatro, graduating in 1981. His career is mainly associated to Gabriele Salvatores, with whom he ...
- Ettore Picciafuocco
*
Alberto Mondini - Leonardo Picciafuocco
*
Gianfelice Imparato - Erminio Picciafuocco
*
Gianni Schicchi
() is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Pucci ...
- Filippo Argenti (as Gianni Schicchi Gabrieli)
*
Maurizio Donadoni - Cardinal Piumini
*
Donato Placido Donato may refer to:
People
*Donato (surname)
As a given name
* Donato Bilancia (1951–2020), Italian serial killer
* Donato Bramante (1444–1514), Italian architect
* Donato da Cascia (fl. c. 1350 – 1370), Italian composer of trecento ma ...
- Egidio Picciafuocco
*
Renzo Rossi - Baldracchi
*
Pietro De Silva - Curzio Sandali
*
Bruno Cariello - Don Pugni
*
Piera Degli Esposti - Aunt Maria
*
Toni Bertorelli
Toni Bertorelli (18 March 1948 – 26 May 2017) was an Italian actor. He performed in over sixty films.
Biography
Bertorelli was born in Barge, Piedmont, Italy.
Bertorelli began his acting career in 1969 working with his friend Carlo Cecchi. H ...
- Count Ludovico Bulla
*
Maria Luisa Bellocchio - Zia Ernesto
Awards
*
David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actress (Piera Degli Esposti)
*
European Film Awards
The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...
Best Actor (Sergio Castellitto)
* 4
Nastro d'Argento
The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...
* Prize of the Ecumenical Jury - Special Mention at the
2002 Cannes Film Festival
The 55th Cannes Film Festival started on 15 May and ran until 26 May 2002. The Palme d'Or went to the Polish-French-German-British co-produced film '' The Pianist'' directed by Roman Polanski.
The festival opened with '' Hollywood Ending'', direct ...
References
External links
*
{{Marco Bellocchio
2002 films
Films directed by Marco Bellocchio
2002 drama films
Italian drama films