Marco Bellocchio is brave thinker and a fine writer who is unafraid to take on controversial subjects concerning Catholicism in the country where the Vatican watches everything very carefully. His work has been labeled 'blasphemous' but it seems Bellocchio is more interested in stirring the thoughts of his viewers than in defaming religion. MY MOTHER'S SMILE, (Il sorriso di mia madre) or 'Ora di religione' (The Religion Hour)as it is also known in Italy, is a sophisticated look at family, personal spiritual concepts, and honesty in a setting of peculiar circumstances that make for a uniquely fascinating film.
Painter Ernesto Picciafuocco's (Sergio Castellitto) is an atheist, separated from his wife Irene (Jacqueline Lustig) who has custody of his son. His son Leonardo (Alberto Mondini) has, for reasons unknown to Ernesto, become interested in religion and Irene informs Ernesto when he comes to pick up the child that he has been heard speaking to God. What follows this disclosure is a father/son sensitive discussion about Ernesto's atheism and his son's need to believe in an afterlife and a God. Disturbed by his son's state of mind, Ernesto is further challenged by a visit from a Vatican priest who informs Ernesto that his mother is about to be canonized! Ernesto is apparently the last to learn of this turn in family events (being an atheist) and discovers the family is pushing to have the canonization hurried in order to raise their status (and money) in Italy's social realm. Ernesto cannot comprehend why his mother should be made a saint as she has been less of a mother than most: her candidacy is based on the fact that as she was murdered by her own son Egidio (Donato Placido) she forgave him, making her a martyr. And apparently a family friend Filippo Argenti (Gianni Schicchi) prayed to the mother and was healed, making her a miracle worker! The family and the church need Ernesto's witness to the incidents for the canonization to be complete and it is here that the conflicts rise to the boiling point with a duel, a physical affair with a religion teacher, and confrontations between Ernesto and his brother Egidio and his family and the warriors of the church. Ernesto's liberal bent marks his journey of self-investigation that explores his morality and honesty by means of his art as he physically alters significant edifices of the old order of Rome into the deconstructed fantasies of his paintings.
Bellocchio frames his complex story with magnificent photography and a cast of actors who are not only credible in their roles but also create a sense of reality versus surrealism. Sergio Castellitto is brilliant as the tortured artist who must make a decision between his family's needs and his own belief system. The music that accompanies this film is composed by Riccardo Giagni who extrapolates curious but excellent excerpts from John Adams' "Harmonielehre", Vinicio Capossela's "Che cossè l'amor" from "Camera a sud", Gia Kancheli's "Psalm 23" from 'Exil', Aaron Jay Kernis's "Musica Celestis", and John Tavener's "... Depart in Peace" and "Tears of the Angels" - one of the more sophisticated musical scores on record.
MY MOTHER'S SMILE requires a lot from the viewer: to stay abreast with the many characters and to follow the maze of interactions takes a lot of concentration. But the overall effect of the film is one of great beauty and significant philosophical importance. Worth repeated viewings and highly recommended. In Italian with English subtitles. Grady Harp
Painter Ernesto Picciafuocco's (Sergio Castellitto) is an atheist, separated from his wife Irene (Jacqueline Lustig) who has custody of his son. His son Leonardo (Alberto Mondini) has, for reasons unknown to Ernesto, become interested in religion and Irene informs Ernesto when he comes to pick up the child that he has been heard speaking to God. What follows this disclosure is a father/son sensitive discussion about Ernesto's atheism and his son's need to believe in an afterlife and a God. Disturbed by his son's state of mind, Ernesto is further challenged by a visit from a Vatican priest who informs Ernesto that his mother is about to be canonized! Ernesto is apparently the last to learn of this turn in family events (being an atheist) and discovers the family is pushing to have the canonization hurried in order to raise their status (and money) in Italy's social realm. Ernesto cannot comprehend why his mother should be made a saint as she has been less of a mother than most: her candidacy is based on the fact that as she was murdered by her own son Egidio (Donato Placido) she forgave him, making her a martyr. And apparently a family friend Filippo Argenti (Gianni Schicchi) prayed to the mother and was healed, making her a miracle worker! The family and the church need Ernesto's witness to the incidents for the canonization to be complete and it is here that the conflicts rise to the boiling point with a duel, a physical affair with a religion teacher, and confrontations between Ernesto and his brother Egidio and his family and the warriors of the church. Ernesto's liberal bent marks his journey of self-investigation that explores his morality and honesty by means of his art as he physically alters significant edifices of the old order of Rome into the deconstructed fantasies of his paintings.
Bellocchio frames his complex story with magnificent photography and a cast of actors who are not only credible in their roles but also create a sense of reality versus surrealism. Sergio Castellitto is brilliant as the tortured artist who must make a decision between his family's needs and his own belief system. The music that accompanies this film is composed by Riccardo Giagni who extrapolates curious but excellent excerpts from John Adams' "Harmonielehre", Vinicio Capossela's "Che cossè l'amor" from "Camera a sud", Gia Kancheli's "Psalm 23" from 'Exil', Aaron Jay Kernis's "Musica Celestis", and John Tavener's "... Depart in Peace" and "Tears of the Angels" - one of the more sophisticated musical scores on record.
MY MOTHER'S SMILE requires a lot from the viewer: to stay abreast with the many characters and to follow the maze of interactions takes a lot of concentration. But the overall effect of the film is one of great beauty and significant philosophical importance. Worth repeated viewings and highly recommended. In Italian with English subtitles. Grady Harp