Unfolding against the stunning backdrop of the Italian Alps, Maura Delpero’s award-winning period drama is a hauntingly beautiful tale of family life torn apart.
1944. In the remote mountain village of Vermiglio, the war is a distant but constant threat. The family routine of local teacher Cesare is disrupted by the arrival of refugee soldier Pietro who’s drawn instantly to the eldest daughter Lucia. Shifts in the cyclical customs of a fading era occur only gradually in such a location but the close of war brings dramatic changes to this contained community. Filmed with painterly grace, there’s something reminiscent of the great films of Italian neorealism, in this detailed and compassionate depiction of the world of a family.
