The latest film from Nanni Moretti is a masterful mix of humour and sadness. The successful director Margherita is in the middle of shooting her latest film when she hears that her mother does not have long to live. This plot line is counterbalanced by an unmanageable American actor who provides many hilarious moments.
Barry Huggins, the pretentious and typically American actor, does not understand Margherita’s directions and always makes himself the centre of attention. Already coping with an ex-husband, a stroppy teenage daughter and the problems of a new relationship, Margherita is almost at her wit’s end. The news of her terminally ill mother compels her to take stock of her life. She takes her mother into her home in order to spend this last phase with her. Their parting becomes a precious, inspiring period in her life.
MIA MADRE is without a doubt Moretti’s best film since La Stanza del Figlio (Winner Golden Palm Cannes 2001) and has won four awards, including the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Cannes Film Festival 2015.