{"id":23975,"date":"2024-06-04T20:44:04","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T00:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=23975"},"modified":"2024-06-04T20:45:27","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T00:45:27","slug":"open-roads-in-the-mirror-cinema-as-a-therapeutic-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=23975","title":{"rendered":"Open Roads: \u2018In The Mirror,\u2019 Cinema As A Therapeutic Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Director Roberta Torre, inscribes on reel her love letter towards the esteemed Italian actress Monica Vitti. However, <\/i><\/b>In The Mirror<\/i><\/b><\/a> <\/i><\/b>is not a biopic, it\u2019s much better. It portrays how the power of cinema may be therapeutic to someone who is struggling with a neurological disorder.<\/span><\/p>\n

Monica (Alba Rohrwacher) suffers from the Korsakoff syndrome that affects memory, in terms of amnesia while at the same time creating false memories. This premise provides an eerie parallel with Monica Vitti\u2019s last years when she was affected by Lewy body dementia, that causes a decline in mental abilities similar to Alzheimer’s disease. The Monica in Roberta Torre\u2019s film gradually gets swept into a state of confusion as she watches the films of Michelangelo Antonioni\u2019s muse. Meanwhile, her husband Edoardo (Filippo Timi), indulges in her visions whilst they reside in their house by the sea. In the interim, the house they have in Rome will have to go on sale to pay off the debt of a legal case that ended badly. In all of this cinema comes to the rescue to alleviate the woman\u2019s condition, as Monica acquires a new memory re-enacting all the women that Vitti brought to the silver screen.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/ins>\n

The narrative pairs the vulnerability of Vitti\u2019s characters with the frailty of a woman who finds a means of escape through all of the actress\u2019 roles, whether they belonged to drama or comedy, whether they demonstrated strength or weakness. Thus, Vitti and Rohrwacher evoke flashes of: La Notte<\/i><\/b> (The Night<\/b>) with Marcello Matroianni; A mezzanotte va la ronda del piacere<\/i><\/b> (The Immortal Bachelor<\/i><\/b>) with Giancarlo Giannini; L’Eclisse<\/i><\/b> (The Eclipse<\/i><\/b>) with Alain Delon; Polvere di stelle<\/i><\/b> (Stardust<\/i><\/b>) with Alberto Sordi; and many more. The make-believe effect is achieved by the exceptional work of costume designer Massimo Cantini Parrini \u2014 who recreated the clothes that Vitti wore in her movies \u2014 as well as the art production by Anna Forletta and Flaviano Barbarisi, who managed to recreate a bourgeois interior design from the Sixties. The look of the film is dreamy and evocative thanks to Stefano Salemme’s cinematography, whilst the narrative pace is given the proper rhythm by Paola Freddi\u2019s editing and the music score by Shigeru Umebayashi \u2014 who is none other than the composer for In The Mood For Love<\/i><\/b>. As regards the actors: Alba Rohrwacher is fitting for this role, since her features have an uncanny resemblance to the ones of Monica Vitti, and Filippo Timi \u2014 playing her screen-husband \u2014 has a similitude to Giancarlo Giannini, who worked with the legendary movie star.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Roberta Torre\u2019s filmography has always been characterised by a sensitivity that she would express by thinking outside of the box. The screenwriter-director who grew up in Milan \u2014 where she trained herself in dramaturgy at the Paolo Grassi School of Dramatic Art, the Civic School of Cinema Luchino Visconti, as well as Ermanno Olmi\u2019s Ipotesi Cinema \u2014 eventually moved south to expand her craft. During the Nineties she settled in Sicily and it is in Palermo where, for a decade, she unleashed her cinematic creativity. Her film Tano da morire<\/i> <\/b>(To Die for Tano<\/i><\/b>), presented at the 54<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span> Venice International Film Festival won several accolades, including the David di Donatello (the Italian Academy Award) and the Nastro d\u2019Argento (the Award from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists). Through the years Roberta Torre has been praised across the festival circuit in Cannes, Sundance and at the Tokyo International Film Festival.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/ins>\n

In The Mirror<\/i><\/b><\/a> is Torre\u2019s tribute to Monica Vitti, that once again is expressed through her style that goes beyond conventions, starting from the Italian title. Mi fanno male i capelli<\/i><\/b> is the original name of the film, that would translate to \u201cMy hair hurts<\/span><\/a>.\u201d This is one of Monica Vitti\u2019s famous lines from the film Il deserto rosso<\/i><\/b> (Red Desert<\/i><\/b>), that was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1964.<\/span><\/p>\n

Roberta Torre\u2019s latest picture is currently part of Open Roads: New Italian Cinema<\/span><\/a>, at Lincoln Center. The motion picture proves to be the gentle homage of a modern filmmaker, to an icon of film history who transcended stereotypes and was ahead of her time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Grade: B<\/span><\/p>\n

Check out more of Chiara\u2019s articles<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photos are Courtesy of Cinecitt\u00e0<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n