Why we picked it – A lyrical film to finish our season in which the sense of place and character are at least as important as the story it tells. Sarah Litchfield of Elm Green will cook for us again.

Synopsis – 1944, a remote Alpine village. We are introduced to the extended family of the local teacher and patriarch. Deserter Pietro catches the eye of Lucia, the eldest daughter; soon they are  married and Lucia is pregnant. At the end of the war, Pietro leaves for Sicily to see his family  promising to write. Days and weeks pass with no word. Lucia sets out to find what has happened.   

The film – This feels like a Thomas Hardy in the Italian Alps – a slowly unwinding story through four seasons in amazing scenery. It is set in the director’s home village in the province of Trento, not far from the Swiss and Austrian borders and it is based on stories she had heard as a child. Largely using local non-professional actors, the Italian dialect is so thick that it was shown in Italy with sub-titles. Here is an interview with the director at last year’s London Film Festival

Here is a longer conversation between Maura Delpero and Alice Rohrwacher who directed our dinner film for last season La Chimera.

 Links imdb Guardian review Corriere della Sera

Director and Writer: Maura Delpero, Cinematography: Mikhail Krichman