The Wait

25/9/2016, 19:45, Danaos 1

Anna is surprised by the unexpected visit of her son’s girlfriend and has to carefully conceal a crucial detail, which threatens to drastically alter their situation. Upon this unusual premise, Paolo Sorrentino’s ("The Great Beauty") right-hand man builds his own promising directorial debut, weaving a complex emotional web, held together by a staggering performance by Juliette Binoche.

L-Attesa 14733 Juliette-Binoche Lou-de-Lage picture-by-Alberto-Novelli

While mourning her son, Giuseppe, at a villa in the Sicilian countryside, Anna is visited by Jeanne, Giuseppe’s girlfriend. Jeanne doesn’t know about Giuseppe’s death and Anna decides to hide the truth from her, telling her that he is absent and will be back by Easter Sunday. As they wait for him to return, the two women get to know each other.

In the stylized "L’ Attesa", Piero Messina, assistant director in Paolo Sorrentino’s "The Great Beauty", attempts to generate suspense through the trope of tragic irony. Messina transforms Juliette Binoche into a matronly Mediterranean mother, uses religious iconography to underpin his story, and packs the soundtrack with songs by XX and Leonard Cohen to create a touching cinematic portrait of grief. One of the best films of last year’s Venice Film Festival.
Filmmaker in attendance

Directors: Piero Messina
Screenwriters: Giacomo Bendotti, Ilaria Macchia, Andrea Paolo Massara, Piero Messina
DoP: Francesco Di Giacomo
Editors: Paola Freddi
Principal Cast: Juliette Binoche, Lou de Laage, Giorgio Colangeli, Domenico Diele

Italy | 2015 | Color | DCP | 100' | Italian