A Stunningly-Shot Italian Coming-of-Age Drama Set in Late ’60s Sicily, ALONE WITH HER DREAMS

Disclaimer; I received this DVD for free in exchange for my review and opinion, I have not been compensated in any way other than the movie.

This movie is beautiful and melancholic, it is the brilliant Lucia Sardo who makes this movie because she gives the gritty day-by-day life, the rugged Sicilian coastline is at once a symbol of wilderness adventure, and the danger and isolation. I loved this movie and it will be one that I keep going back to.

Filmed on the rugged and stunningly beautiful Sicilian coast, ALONE WITH HER DREAMS explores the universally timely themes of family separation because of emigration, generational conflicts and feminine repression, continuing the traditions of the Italian neorealist masters; Rossellini, Visconti, Olmi and De Sica.

Set in the late 1960’s, the film explores the issues of immigration, community values and family devotion through the eyes of a young girl, Lucia who is left behind with her grandmother, Maria, while her parents emigrate to France to find work. Lucia pains to be with her family as she struggles to learn her role in the tiny, traditional village under the watchful guidance of her stern grandmother. As Lucia enters womanhood, her childhood innocence is lost to a hideous family secret and her world of childhood fragility and heartbreaking nostalgia melts into adulthood’s poignant understanding.

Dignity, strength and optimism become the traits that Lucia unknowingly inherits as she ultimately learns about her stoic grandmother’s compassion and deep nurturing love in this poignant debut from filmmaker Paolo Licata.

A festival favorite and winner of Best First Feature and Best Original Score at the 2020 Italian Golden Globes, ALONE WITH HER DREAMS was also nominated for Best Actress and Best Screenplay. It also earned critical acclaim around the globe. Jen Johans of Film Intuition said, “the film grows both more compelling and more universally relatable with each successive scene…[and] those who stay with it will find it’s a hard movie to shake,” and Roger Costa of The Brazilian Press writes “Paolo Licata’s debut is a lyrical meditation on the young feminine universe, its innocence, discoveries and challenges. Impressively shot with bright views on the astonishing landscape and atmospheric interiors, Licata delicately addresses women’s repression, immigration, prejudice and faith seen through Lucia’s experiences, while paving the way for a redemptive climax depicting the importance of forgiveness.”

LENGTH: 95 min
COUNTRY: Italy
YEAR: 2019
GENRE: Drama
LANGUAGE: Italian w/English subtitles
FORMATS: DCP, Blu-ray & DVD
DIRECTOR: Paolo Licata
CAST: Lucia Sardo, Marta Castiglia, Ileana Rigano, Katia Greco, Claudio Collovà, Loredana Marino, Tania Bambaci, Federica Sarno
CREW: SCREENWRITER: Paolo Licata, Catena Fiorello, Ugo Chiti; CINEMATAGRAPHER: Lorenzo Adorisio; EDITOR: Maurizio Baglivo; MUSIC: Pericle Odierna; PRODUCER: Frederic Ollier, Sandro Frezza, Xavier Delmas

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