Synopsis

In this warm, emotional, and handsome film, Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino reteams with actor Toni Servillo, the star of his Oscar-winning drama The Great Beauty, who delivers a tour-de-force performance as an Italian president taking stock at the end of his term. As he  reflects back on his life, he weighs his final acts, which might well determine his lasting legacy.

Servillo’s President Mariano De Santis, a former judge with an unimpeachable reputation as a man of honesty and integrity, is grappling with political decisions of great consequence in his last six months in office. Yet even as he wrestles with appropriate courses of action, Mariano finds his mind wandering to the early days of his romance with his late wife Aurora, whose infidelity 40 years earlier remains an open wound. His close friend Coco knows the identity of his wife’s lover but refuses to divulge the secret, leaving Mariano to wonder if he will ever gain closure.

With his finely wrought narratives, gorgeously detailed production design, and delight in the absurd, Sorrentino crafts a film, which, anchored by Servillo’s magnificent presence, transcends as an elegant, exhilarating, and thoughtful meditation on forgiveness and grace.

Synopsis

After what seemed like a trivial argument, Marta (Alba Rohrwacher) and Antonio (Elio Germano) break up. Reeling from heartache, gym teacher Marta withdraws into herself, completely losing her appetite and enthusiasm for life and finding solace in a lifesize K-pop idol cardboard standee. Antonio, a chef, throws himself into his skyrocketing career. Even though he was the one who ended things, he can’t seem to get her off his mind. When Marta discovers that her loss of appetite has more to do with her health than her grief, everything changes: the taste of food, the feel of music, romantic desires, and the certainty of choices made.

At once disarming and devastating, Three Goodbyes is a bittersweet tale of love lost and found—for oneself, for others, and for the joys in life. With gentleness and a touch of humor, celebrated Catalan auteur Isabel Coixet eloquently adapts Michela Murgia’s autobiographical best-seller, crafting a guide for how to navigate life circumstances that create a clear delineation between a before and an after with grit and grace.

Synopsis

Luca has long dreamed of becoming a parent. When the newborn Alba, who has Down syndrome, is abandoned at the hospital, Luca is determined to fight against an archaic set of laws and societal expectations for his right, as a gay man, to adopt and care for her. Inspired by true events, this tender tale is a testament to love and family enduring against all odds.

Synopsis

Assisi, 1211. 18-year-old Chiara is convinced by her friend Francesco to take a vow of poverty. Cutting ties with her wealthy family, she embarks on a journey of devotion, passion, and rebellion. Based on the real life of Santa Chiara of Assisi, this impassioned musical tracks one woman’s lifelong, revolutionary fight for equality.

Synopsis

Brothers Pietro and Alvise, heirs in a long line of fishermen, are at odds about the future of their family home. Is the house on the picturesque island of Giudecca in the Venice lagoon a vital lifeline to a shared history and self-sufficient way of life or their ticket to financial freedom? An epic, impossible clash of wills ensues, bringing into relief the human impact of global tourism on life in the sublime city.