Uhits theaters October 26, There’s still tomorrow won the Golden Ticket at the Rome Film Festival. A debut record, in many ways. First of all, the way it talks about the status of women in patriarchal society
A debut that goes down in historynot only for the numbers recorded, but also because it managed to stimulate reflection – and therefore discussion – about a scourge that still affects many, many women today: patriarchy and the battles for independence, self-determination and autonomy.
We are of course talking about “There’s still tomorrow”, film in which Paola Cortellesi makes her directorial debut. It was chosen as the opening film of its eighteenth edition Rome Festivalscheduled from October 18 to 29, the film debuted in theaters on October 26 and has already brought 1,841,817 moviegoers to the cinema, earning almost 13 million euros, surpassing even the last Marvel blockbuster.
A doubly significant result in light of the subject matter tackled by Cortellesi, one of the most beloved – and accomplished – artists of Italian cinema: he shot entirely in black and white and set in Rome in the second half of the 40s, in the post-war period, he has as a protagonist Delia (Cortellesi), wife of Ivano (Valerio Mastandrea), the “family man” par excellence, and a mother of three. It is precisely the roles of wife and mother that define Delia as a person, a starting point from which Cortellesi works to show the path of rebirth and liberation not only for the protagonist, but also for her daughter, who seems destined to follow the same path.
Acclaimed by audiences and critics, the film became an instant hit a manifesto of patriarchal culture which until a few decades ago was the norm and which even today has not been completely eradicated despite women’s struggles and difficult goals. The slaps, insults and humiliations that Delia suffers inside and outside the walls of the houseand in which her children are watching, affect the viewers almost as much as the protagonist herself, because they appear as natural, obvious, legitimate. Inspired by the stories of her grandmother and great-grandmother, Paola Cortellesi sketches a character who is seemingly fragile, but in fact has a soul of steel, who in a Rome where winds of Liberation are blowing it touches her, and then drags her, a breeze that also speaks of her freedom.
It is impossible to turn away when faced with the familial and social intersection outlined by Cortellesi as a director and staged by Cortellesi as an actor: a woman convinced by society and her husband who what he thinks and says is worth nothingbut thanks to a letter with her name written on it, what will finally bring women to the polls to vote and the love for her daughter (plays Romana Maggiora VerganoThat we did an interview here) on the contrary understands that it is of great importance. First of all for herself.
A drama that makes you laugh a lot, a comedy that makes you cry, even in its form There’s still tomorrow it is innovative, and also for that reason it becomes one of those films that everyone must see. Especially the younger ones, as Carla Signoris well expressed, who suggested it are shown in schools. In the meantime, Cortellesi is basking in the three prizes he won at the Rome Film Festival – Audience Award, Special Jury Prize and Special Mention for Best First Film – and the Golden ticket as the most watched Italian film of the year.