Isabella Ragonese (
The Golden Door,
Tutta la Vita Davanti), excels as Lucia, a thoughtful and reserved woman who works in a flower shop. Outside of her job, she has a husband, Andrea (Alessio Boni), and a son she dearly loves—in other words, a good life. But she’s living it with a remote sense of strangeness. Deep inside, she has a scar from the loss of a close childhood friend and a longing for a different happiness. Then she discovers that her husband, Andrea, is cheating on her. She struggles to win him back, but Andrea is distracted by the other woman. Lucia has to cope, alone, with the fear of losing everything. Serendipity and her sense of humanity involve her with Ahmed (Faysal Abbaoui)— a young immigrant who has nothing—as their paths continue to cross. When she finds him on the street, burning up with fever, she takes him home, offers to let him sleep on her couch, and covers him with a blanket, much to her husband’s consternation. As her quiet desperation gives way to a timid confidence, and as the simple act of kindness to a stranger energizes her, she begins to find her center. Lucia learns to drive, examines her assumptions about her family, and rebuilds her life. Official Selection, 2016 Göteborg Film Festival.
Copresented by Bay Area Women in Film & Media