''Marianna Ucrìa'' is a 1997 Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Roberto Faenza Roberto Faenza (born 21 February 1943 in Turin) is an Italian film director. He received a degree in Political Science and a diploma at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. Career Faenza made his directing debut in 1968 with the internat ...

. It is based on a novel by

Dacia Maraini Dacia Maraini (; born November 13, 1936) is an Italian writer. Maraini's work focuses on women's issues, and she has written numerous plays and novels. She has won awards for her work, including the Formentor Prize for ''L'età del malessere'' ...

. It was entered into the

20th Moscow International Film Festival The 20th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 19 to 29 July 1997. The Golden St. George was awarded to the American film '' Marvin's Room'' directed by Jerry Zaks. Jury * Oleg Menshikov (Russia – President of the Jury) * Georgi ...

Plot

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, in the first half of the eighteenth century, the twelve-year-old Marianna Ucrìa was taken by her grandfather to watch a hanging, in the hope that the show could make her recover from silence. But all is in vain. Marianna does not speak and does not hear. She is thus induced by her mother to marry her uncle Pietro and, when she reaches sixteen, she has already given birth to three children. Having become a young woman, she welcomes the visit of Grass, a French instructor who initiates her to sign language and introduces her to the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

philosophical ideas that move around Europe. When her husband dies, Marianna finds herself having to manage her life and relationships with others. She thus demonstrates that she has acquired a strong personality that allows her to govern relationships with easement and an important romantic relationship with the brother of her servant Fila. By now a mature and conscious woman, Marianna is able to understand the terrible secret that had been hidden to her: her silence came from the trauma caused by the sexual violence suffered by her uncle Pietro.

Cast

* Emmanuelle Laborit as Marianna Ucrìa *

Bernard Giraudeau Bernard René Giraudeau (18 June 1947 – 17 July 2010) was a French sailor, actor, film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer. Early life He was born on 18 June 1947 in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime. In 1963 he enlisted in the French na ...

as Grass *

Laura Morante Laura Morante (born 21 August 1956) is an Italian film actress. Life and career Morante was born in Santa Fiora, province of Grosseto (Tuscany), the daughter of lawyer and playwright Marcello Morante, who was the son of Irma (née Poggibonsi) ( ...

as Maria *

Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career Noiret was born in Lille, France, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student a ...

as Duke Signoretto, grandfather of Marianna *

Laura Betti Laura Betti ( Trombetti; May 1 1934 – 31 July 2004) was an Italian actress known particularly for her work with directors Federico Fellini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Bernardo Bertolucci. She had a long friendship with Pasolini and made a docume ...

as Giuseppa *

Leopoldo Trieste Leopoldo Trieste (3 May 1917 – 25 January 2003) was an Italian actor, film director and script writer. Trieste was born in Reggio Calabria. He worked with directors such as Pietro Germi, Francis Ford Coppola, Giuseppe Tornatore, Mario Bava, T ...

as Pretore Camaleo * Lorenzo Crespi as Saro *

Roberto Herlitzka Roberto Herlitzka (2 October 1937 – 31 July 2024) was an Italian theatre and film actor. He has appeared in 38 films since 1973. In 2004 he won the David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor and Nastro d'Argento for Best Actor for his role i ...

as Duke Pietro * Silvana Gasparini as Fiammetta * Eva Grieco as Marianna when child * Selvaggia Quattrini as Fila * Pamela Saino as Giuseppa when child

Reception

The film opened in Italy on 39 screens and grossed $155,893 for the weekend, placing tenth at the box office. After four weeks it had grossed $779,270.

References

External links

* 1997 films 1997 drama films Italian drama films 1990s Italian-language films Films about incest Films directed by Roberto Faenza Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films scored by Franco Piersanti Films set in the 18th century 1990s Italian films Films based on Italian novels Films based on works by Dacia Maraini {{1990s-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links