Nanni Moretti, a veteran at the Cannes Film Festival is back this year with what fits the description of a semi-autobiographical drama-Mia Madre (My Mother) —a movie which does not only throw light on the last stages of losing an aged mother to death but challenges the working lifestyle of most people which leads them to miss some of the most important things and truths of their lives.
‘Mia Madre’ is the third collaboration of the Italian film-maker with actress Margherita Buy, who plays his alter ego, a director dealing with an ailing aged mother, child-mother relationship and boyfriend crisis during a movie shoot.
It’s brilliant how Nanni Moretti is able to touch the serious subject of a dying mother in a film which somewhat is perfectly laced with laughter, caused by Barry Huggins (John Turturro) who stands tall as an actor in the movie being shot by Margherita.
‘Mia Madre’ starts with actress Margherita, a director on set shooting a scene of angry protesters demonstrating against a factory lay off. It doesn’t get easy on Margherita’s set when she brings in Barry Huggins who plays an entrepreneur who has taken over the factory in crisis.
On set, Barry Huggins struggled with his lines, a situation first thought to be a challenge due to the film being shot in a different language but later in the movie, it turns out that Barry indeed had a deeper problem with remembering his lines though he has managed this well to be successful in his career.