L'ora di religione is not a beautiful movie in any sense of the word. It is dark, the shadows and lights of Rome are matched by the moody vision of the director. Bellocchio plays with images Fellini style, but doesn't focus so much on the caricature in 8 & 1/2 style, but tries to convey the ambiguity of contemporary religious life. It's the ambiguity of modernity; cell phones versus pictures of the saints, the feared "immaginette" Italian kids grew up with. Nothing can change, but so much has changed. Bellocchio's movie style is ripe with symbols: a fat Jesus crosses the road with a plastic cross. Priests in the Vatican force african kids to climb stairs on their knees: the church is portrayed to exploit the same old mother load: the poor, the weak, the ignorant, the child. At some point Ernesto, the main character masterfully played by Castellitto finds himself involved in an incongruous duel with a symbol of a past so remote it appears comical: he loses the duel instantly as the swords cross. Nothing can change. Yet we can maybe hope to keep our identity, and even if god's pervasive presence deprives us of freedom, as Ernesto's son is taught, falling in love, shouting a blasphemous curse can be an act of individuality. Or maybe not.
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PAolo-1024 October 2003
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I can only say that in the poor Italian cinema scenario, a film like this one from Marco Bellocchio definitely has an important role.
Nothing to do with the best Bellocchio's filmography but considering how difficult is to treat this argument in a very politicized Vatican environment, this film gives you at least some good arguments to think about.
Sergio Castellitto gives his best, his acting is well according to what you would have expected from his character. The film at the end is a bit unconcluded but worth surely its view.
Rating: 6/10 -
noralee25 February 2005"My Mother's Smile (L'Ora di religione: Il sorriso di mia madre)" is a rollicking take on Catholicism that's very like how "I Heart Huckabees" treated existentialism, but with even more Tom Robbins-like absurdist humor.
Almost Kafka-like, with a touch of Woody Allen, the central character is the straight man in the joke, particularly with Sergio Castellitto's hang dog look (he was the Italian lover in "Mostly Martha") as he wakes up one morning to discover that his mother is about to be declared a saint.
We see the impact of this hypocritical quest on his ex-wife, brothers, old friends, aunts, priests and other people he has to come in contact with over two days, as everyone has selfish reasons for promoting sainthood. The potential canonization also becomes a vehicle to examine violence, sin, madness, ambition, love, parent/child relationships, philosophy, and art, as the central figure is an artist and the titular expression is captured in a Mona Lisa-like portrait.
The satire goes a bit overboard, though, when the son is challenged to a duel at dawn, though I think there was some point about the pointlessness of archaic societal rules. Small characters are weighted with too many meanings, like a crazy architect seeking to blow up a national monument that figures in a souvenir photograph, a witness whose name is a pseudonym from Dante, a mysterious, beautiful religion teacher, and more symbolism that went by, particularly as this is one of those typical Italian movies where the subtitles seem abridgments of the conversations.
In a lovely twist on the pieta, the most moving scenes are the paternal ones between father and son.
The soundtrack includes beautiful contemporary classical religious music including Adams and Tavener. -
fearful_syzygy30 May 2002Ernesto Picciafuoco is a painter and illustrator of children's books, separated from his wife and father of the boy Leonardo, to whom he is very close. One day he receives a visit from the mysterious Don Pugni who informs him that the church has for the past three years been considering the canonisation his mother, who was murdered by his mentally unstable brother many years before. He is profoundly shocked by this news, not merely because he has been kept in the dark by his family, but also because it contrasts violently with his bohemian lifestyle as an artist, free man and an atheist. The memory of his mother forces him to come to terms with the past and also to change the way he thinks about his present life.
Trapped between the church on the one hand, which is determined to establish the truth of his mother's alleged martyrdom, and his brothers on the other, each in one way or another defeated by life and determined to re-establish the lost honour and respectability of the family, Ernesto presents them with his only mode of defence: his own mother's ironic and detached smile, the smile of a woman he has always considered "passive, simply stupid, and even a little cold". He is constantly on the move, thrown between family get-togethers, an interview with the cardinal Don Piumini, an illogical and anachronistic duel at sunrise with the eccentric Count Bulla to whom honour is everything (and once again it is his mother's wry smile that betrays Ernesto's true feelings), and a meeting with a mysterious and beautiful young woman who may or may not be his son's R.E. teacher; a woman to whom the door to his atelier is curiously always open.
Initially, I was worried that I wouldn't understand the issues dealt with in the film, as they are specifically Italian in nature. Thus the "vittoriano" monument in Rome, detested by the vast majority of the Italian population is a recurrent symbol in the film, as is obviously the theme of sanctification and the papacy as a whole, coupled with the debate about the fascist past and the royal family (in exile since the end of the Second World War). However, I loved the film, because it is not truly about these specific aspects of Italian culture and society; rather it uses these to probe deeper into the human psyche. Obviously the theme of religion plays an important role (incidentally, I don't at all agree with the English translation of the title, the Religion Hour, which means nothing: it should much rather have been translated as "Religious Education" or something of the sort, in order even to come close to the Italian double sense of Leonardo's class at school as well as his father Ernesto's sudden obligation to confront the issue), but it is not about the Catholic religion as such, but rather a more personal faith. In Ernesto's case, this faith turns out not to be in God, but in the love of a woman.
It is to a large extent a very strange film (Bellocchio himself has described it as a "very bizarre detective story"). The duel with Count Bulla, Ernesto's threefold betrayal by his mother's smile (the subtitle of the film), and the unexplained significance of the "vittoriano" monument are all very difficult to understand, but this impact of the film in undeniable, and although any concrete message that the film might be trying to deliver remains opaque, the ultimate point is for the individual viewer to extract some personal significance from the film and to think about some of the themes presented -- I went to see the film in the evening and spent the entire following day thinking about it; how often can you claim that about a film?
The strong performances by the cast and the interesting array of characters coupled with the dreamlike and at times surreal images make for a beautiful, at times magical (such as the wonderful scene at the end when Ernesto chases Diana around his flat), and always intriguing. Beautiful: 10/10 -
babsbnz6 October 2002Interesting, hard to categorize (not a tragedy, not a comedy, maybe somewhat of a satire?) movie about a son who's mother (assumed to be anything BUT saintly) is being recommended for Sainthood. Movie seems to believe that the Catholic church hasn't done a very good job of assessing her qualifications....and given the current problems the Catholic Church is facing in America....it's quite believable. The tone is pretty somber; some of the plot is confusing at times, and I wondered if there was supposed to be a "higher meaning" than the action on screen? But even though there seemed to be lots of loose ends, it made me think....though no conclusions could be drawn. Part of the Chicago International Film Festival....fits that genre well.
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alphaphan-118 April 2005I really enjoyed this film. I think that Sergio Castellitto was brilliant. He is one of my favorite actors and he did not disappoint me at all in this film. I recommend that you rent it if you are in the mood for a very interesting story and great acting. Yes, it was one of those films where you interpret the ending, but so much the better. I like to think after a film and not be fed any formulaic plot-- which this film did not follow at all. I hope Sergio Castellitto continues to get cast in these great roles. I loved him in "Ne Quittez Pas" too! Oh, it's too bad that these films don't get released in America though! Euros can get kind of pricey!
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jotix10025 February 2005Marco Bellocchio is a voice in the Italian cinema that has been present for about four decades now; he is still going strong. Like a good wine, Mr. Bellocchio gets better with the passage of time. His latest film to get a commercial run is "Ora di religione". This is a complex movie worth taking a look at it, as it presents us a different input on how the director, who also wrote the screen play, views religion, and the Catholic Church in general.
Italy is a supposedly Catholic country. Like the rest of Europe, Italy is going through a change in the way the Catholic Church exerts its influences in everything. More and more, people are asking about what they were taught as children and the realities of modern life where science explains mysteries that were not questioned before.
If you haven't seen the film, perhaps you should stop reading here.
Mr. Bellocchio decides to take a look at the issue of sainthood and its ramifications, as it affects a bourgeois family in turmoil. The Picciafuoccos come from a family of five sons. Egido, has killed his mother, who is being considered for canonization because someone claims he has been cured of a horrible fatal disease by praying to the matriarch of the family.
At the center of the story we find Ernesto, the artist son. He becomes concerned when Irene, his estranged wife, tells him about a change in their young son, Leonardo. This boy has become obsessed with the dogma being taught to him in his school. In his young mind, Leonardo can't differentiate between reality and what he has learned. Thus, he feels about talking to God, because he's everywhere.
Ernesto learns about the possibility of his mother being declared a saint by a cardinal who wants to interview the family and clarify an aspect of her death. The machinery has been set in motion. Ernesto realizes with horror how the family is affected by the news. Ernesto gets to realize what each brother, as well as his aunts, stand to benefit when his late mother be declared officially a saint. The wheels of commercialism have been set in motion and they will not stop the personal ambitions from each one in the family.
In Sergio Castellitto, the director has found the perfect actor to play Ernesto. Mr. Castellitto has demonstrated he is one of the best actors of the moment, as well as an excellent director. He gives an amazing performance as Ernesto, the son that questions his family's motives as well as what he sees in that society.
The ensemble cast is wonderful. The film is dark. It kept reminding this viewer of some of the best films of the Italian classic cinema without imitating any style at all. Mr. Bellocchio is an original who has his own voice. He questions a lot of things that most of us have taken for granted, but are unresolved in the prodigious mind of Marco Bellocchio. -
filmalamosa28 January 2012Started watching this and almost turned it off. It had all the makings of a yuppie fantasy with exotic intellectuals pretty people architecturally perfect settings and so on. Turned out I was wrong.
In fact the movie turned into a satire about religion, a lot of the characters I took as exotic yuppie fodder were meant to be parodies.
Almost passed up what might be a good film. I say might be because I had little immediate emotional or intellectual enjoyment. Also there is a big fat pseudo-intellectual element to the whole thing. The director writer etc... mentally buzzing on some high plunk down things they think are terribly clever such as a smiling Mona Lisa with moving lips the size of a room--which in fact are empty ideas. However, I always hope movies like this operate on my subconscious and leave some sort of useful traces there. Mostly they are disjointed nonsense my subconscious has to wall off.
We will see... don't recommend it...the satire on religion was a good idea but too much wacky junk. -
SFfilmgoer11 September 2005This is an interesting film which purports to show how candidates for sainthood are chosen and how related parties can have an influence. A woman is being considered for sainthood, but her son thinks of her as anything but a saint and is surprised that so many people want to make her a saint. It is because most of them have something to gain from it. Some of her relatives want her to be a saint because being a relative of a saint can have personal benefits.
The only fault I noticed is that the English subtitles could have been clearer - often the subtitles are shown a light background making it hard to read although I was able to read enough to get an idea of what the picture was about. -
Aquilant15 May 2005"L'ora di religione" (The religion class) is an awful third rate movie whose main purpose is to ridicule the acts of canonization in an apodictic tone, even with a blasphemous curse uttered in the name of the art of cinema. Aiming at showing the evidence of huge turnovers hidden behind the canonization projects with the connivance of Vatican, the movie supports the thesis of religious conversions due to mere spirit of opportunism to open new prospects of eternal life insurance. In other words, we are in the presence of a religious choice made on grounds of expediency and not intended as a profession of faith renewed day by day without listening to bewitching sirens echoing secular songs of existential desolation.
This movie desecrates and tramples upon all the true and good ideals of life professed by the Catholic Church, laying the blame on the religion, accusing it to disturb the peace of the families, to upset the conscience of children, as if the religion class were responsible of a series of existential damages in our time. As if one could find behind the facade of the Catholicism a good deal of hidden hypocrisy. And if Ettore, Ernesto's son, in his childish obsession manages to talk directly with GOD against his own will, there he his, the "deus ex machina", his omniscient father in his capacity as a fictitious but miraculous therapist, ready to obviate the drawback with the clear and strict enunciation of a suggestive cause-effect relation about the desire for eternal life: believing in SCIENCE is tantamount to believing in IMMORTALITY (thank to the power of face lifting!), ignoring that only a wholesome family education in conformity with the spirit of Catholicism can constitute the basis of an adequate comprehension of the religious doctrine. On the other hand, how can a child not to take too literally the (unhealthy?!) catechism lessons from a necessarily ugly and frigid religion teacher (because a religion teacher can't be a nice woman, in accordance with the script) if his parents are unable to give him a right support to make him understand that six billion human beings can be easily controlled by GOD thank to His almightiness? It's obvious that Ernesto, the father, anxious to formulate hypothesis and thesis to reach the truth one way only, namely in accordance with his personal idea of basic beliefs of atheism, can't even dream of pondering about his inability to enable his son to understand this simple truth. He never looks at himself, examining his own conscience to look into the matter of his own infallibility. He hasn't any doubts about the INADEQUACY of the religion teacher and about the ADEQUACY of his twopenny halfpenny dialectics because what really matters, according to the script, is to strike blindly at everything concerning the religious element, especially at the issue of sainthood, without any pause for breath, without any alternative voice, profiting by every occasion to deny the existence of life after death.
It's really remarkable how the truth can be misrepresented here. There isn't any will to direct the attention to those mischievous aspects of the modern society that have smoothed the way for cynical and opportunist people ready to profit from every occasion to reach their own purposes, taking advantage of the good faith of the Ecclesiastic Authority (an hypothesis never contemplated in the movie) to acquire dignity, prestige and perpetuate privilege positions, especially through the safest way, that is to say the sanctification of a frail, poor wretch with the only fault of having given birth to five heartless sons. On the other hand, "the eternity is a sure investment, an absolute value that outlives every changes for the worse, like the banks" as states cynically Filippo Argenti (not that frenzied Florentine spirit among the wrathful in the river Styx that turned on himself his own biting teeth, as written in Alighieri's Divine Comedy), as if to give value to the religious conversions may suffice a simple formal act of obedience to the Church and to the Pope, described as an "absolute monarch who reigns over the consciences of all Italian people." And according to the thesis of the movie, a human being converted to Christ can enjoy his life a little more and find a lover for himself without playing the moralist and without caring about breaking up his family. A miracle of the so-called authorial cinema!!! -
Chris Knipp4 June 2002Marco Bellocchio's new movie, `L'ora di religione,' has one of the more peculiar premises in cinematic history: an artist and illustrator (I'm afraid he's a movie artist, whose work and life are rather vaguely and glamorously sketched in) learns that his recently deceased mother, whom he thought a bore and a fool, has been proposed by the rest of his family for sainthood, and has a good chance of getting it, and the Vatican wants to ask him a few questions about her death. The artist is stupefied and so are we. Whether we are fascinated and intrigued is another question. The other family members behind the canonization project have enough pretension and influence to want more of what they've already got, and the idea is that the secondhand publicity they'll receive through having a beatified mom will add to their social, political, and financial success. Ernesto Picciafuoco, the artist, is not only appalled by this new development, but also troubled by the simultaneous discovery of his own young son's apparent burgeoning religiosity. What follows is a meandering investigation of the two situations. Ernesto (Sergio Castellitto) looks a little like Dustin Hoffman but with more `there' there. He has to have presence and intelligence to be at the center of an examination of religion that is as complicated, quirky, and provocative as the one that occupies `L'ora di religione.' Castellitto's naturalness and humanity do a lot to make the risk of such a weird premise pay off. His scenes with Gigio Alberti as Ettore, his little son, are absolutely charming and young Alberti is wonderfully spontaneous and real.
If only the other family relationships were as natural and made as much sense. For me the movie fails to come together, partly, I admit, because the Catholic church has never been a big concern of mine, and partly because of flaws in the screenplay and the style that make the story even harder to follow than it would be anyway. Every role other than Ernesto's and Ettore's is more or less a cameo. There are complicated theological disputes that are suddenly broken off by surreal fantasies. (Bellocchio wavors back and forth between satirical realism and obscurantist hyperrealism, and the combination doesn't work well here.) There is the too-perfect and too-beautiful Diana Sereni (Chiara Conti), the teacher of Ettore's `ora di religione' (religion class), who has apparently inspired Ettore's precocious religious crisis and whom Ernesto promptly falls in love with at their first meeting. Instead of a dubious influence as seemed at first, she eventually appears to be a better candidate for sainthood than mom, just on the basis of the magical glow around her face when she's onscreen. Ernesto, with Castellitto's able assistance, despite the odd premise and the shaky plot development, continues to retain some degree of three-dimensionality throughout, but the others tend to the stereotypical. The artist's estranged wife pops up every so often only to help Ernesto take young Ettore to school, a scene that recurs with tiresome repetitiveness.
The Vatican `investigation' that draws in Ernesto aims to discover whether a brother, currently incarcerated, murdered their mother in her sleep, or, as a new rumor has it, whether the mother was awake and forgave her son for doing her in. A favorable answer to this question might tip the scale for mom from the merely super-nice into the saintly category, or from the saintly into the canonizable. Unfortunately this whole issue also strained my credulity far beyond its capacity. Ernesto's bizarre interview on this topic with a Cardinal, Don Piumini (Maurizio Donadoni) in what appears to be a Vatican dining hall for poor and disabled people, is memorable if only for Piumini's stylized manner and strong presence. (One concrete thing I learned from this movie is that Italian Catholic clerics wear the latest chic eyeglasses.)
Equally bizarre is a gathering of rightwing ideologues led by a certain Count Bulla, who challenges Ernesto to a duel. What century are we in? Bellocchio's movie is outrageously personal. In America we'd call it self-indulgent; but he's Italian and this movie is serious and intellectual enough to have been the only Italian entry at Cannes. There is a waste of skill and talent here. This is a gifted filmmaker, and these are excellent actors, and this is material of potentially enormous importance to the audience (if not to me). For some it will all work. It will seem tremendously original and thought provoking. For others it will be cause for head shaking and rueful remarks about what ever happened to the great Italian cinema of those wonderful twenty years of cultural flowering in Italy after the end of World War II. Rossellini, De Sica, Fellini, Visconti, Antonioni: where are you now when we need you? -
gradyharp11 June 2006Marco 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 -
tomm-2529 June 2012A terrific film from Italy; thoroly true to Italian (mostly Roman Catholic) family values. (I was born and raised in one such Italian family, but here in the land of "Merda de cane," (Americano(s), as some Italians call us.)
The music is quite interesting, too. The unmistakable music and voice of Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard forms a great part of the atmosphere of the funeral scene. She even appears (singing) on camera for a bit. Why she is not acknowledged, I cannot imagine. No entry in the credits roll. And none in the IMDb profiles - personal or film, either.
Might the have been some unpleasantry among producers, director, cast, crew, etc? She's credited appropriately in Hans Zimmer's part in the music of Gladiator, The Insider, Man On Fire, and Heat, for instance.
Any ideas, folx? -
leif-3822 February 2020Marco Bellocchio made this moody, atmospheric drama 20 years ago, at a point when Pope John-Paul (1978-2005) had canonized perhaps 400 saints.
Ernesto Picciafuocco (Sergio Castellitto), an atheist and an acclaimed artist, discovers two of his brothers intend to have their mother canonized. She had been murdered by a third brother in a fit of insanity. The two brothers insist she died a pious death- in prayer and forgiveness. That, and an extremely questionable miracle, are the grounds for sainthood. The only problem- Ernesto has always been told that his mother was murdered in her sleep.
The filmmaking is excellent by any standard. The plot is mysterious without becoming obscure, the cinematography is memorable, and the use of symbolism brilliantly visualizes the filmmaker's views.
'My mother's smile' is a portrait of an Italy rapidly entering a post-Christian era. As you may discern from the other reviews, one's reaction depends on how one feels about the topic. While the film is undeniably brilliant on its surface, Bellocchio- no Tarkovsky- prefers to argue with straw men.
The first straw man is Christianity. Christians abuse children, and their Church is a powerful institution that hands out rewards to a select few. One becomes a Christian so that he may assuage guilt after he sins or so that he may win Pascal's wager. Nowhere do we hear of a loving God, and Ernesto makes it very clear he wants nothing to do with universal love.
The second straw man is the Christians. Of these there are two kinds- superficial Christians and true believers. Superficial Christians carry all the trappings but none of the faith. Among these are Ernesto's brothers, who view their mother's canonization solely as a way to gain prestige. True believers are doddering, stupid, and utterly lacking in common sense. Ernesto hated his mother because her faith made her stupid and unable to care for her mad son.
The movie ends with a scene of the family going to an audience with the Pope, but Pope John Paul never appears onscreen- as it would be impossible to place him among either the superficial or the stupid.
<Warning: spoilers follow>
So where does all this leave us? Ultimately, Ernesto has his integrity, his love for his son (who will be raised an atheist), romantic love, and his art. Will this be enough? Bellocchio clearly believes it is, and he argues well. This is where things really get interesting. Unfortunately, it's also where the film ends.
There is a side plot involving a duel with Count Bulla- an archaic wraith symbolizing nationalism, and an animated sequence showing the destruction of the Vittoriano Monument. Ironically, Bellocchio's postmortem for nationalism turned out to be premature. Whether he is right about Christianity remains to be seen. -
sperman21 November 2002Eventually!!!!! That was a GOOD movie! Clever, subtle, absolutely not offensive (for anybody with a minimum intelligence), somehow delicate even! Sergio Castellito is extremely good in here and carries around this very complex character who tries to be simply COHERENT. Yes, the whole movie is COHERENT. "Coherence" and "smile" could be the main words describing this movie. Grotesque and caricature dance happily around the main character, dragging him down an impredictable spiral of absurd events, started by the almost insignificant spark of a knock on the door. The only negative thing are the two main actresses, Ernesto's wife and lover, who are really lousy. But on the overall the movie is excellent, and very well directed too!
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sergepesic15 August 2011Italian director Marco Bellochio is an original film maker. He has a story to tell and artistic statement to make, and he does it with courage and dignity." My Mother's Smile" is a satire on the mass production of saints in today Roman Catholic Church. There are more new saints in the last 25 years than in century before. Our world and, even more, our religious people need assurance for their stringent efforts. Faith alone just isn't enough anymore, people seek more then otherworldly goods and promises of eternal bliss for good behavior. The movie is hard to pin down. It mixes serious and realistic with satiric, almost operatic gestures and caricatures. Complex, but ultimately deeply rewarding experience.
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runamokprods5 January 2012A divorced atheist painter, removed from his family, comes to find out they are quietly plotting with the Church to have his mother canonized as a saint – mostly for personal gain and prestige - even though there's great question as to how much the 'official' version of his mother's life has been distorted and re-invented to help the cause.
There's something chilling, in a moody, David Lynch, Nic Roeg sort of way about the handling of this nightmare scenario (the director calls it 'a very strange thriller'), where a man is pressured to accept his clearly flawed, cold, and distant mother as a saint 'for the good of the family'.
But along with it's skewering of people using religion to very non-religious ends, there's also the pain and confusion of a man without faith grasping to make sense of life, parenthood, and love.
There are some plot lines that lead nowhere, just leading to more questions. Some of it gets a little Gothic, to the edge of silly, but the performances, music and camera-work keep pulling you back in, and haunting moments have stayed with me. -
egos31 May 2002Have you ever felt bored by religion? In particular by the cultural interference by Christian Church? Well, this movie shows you were right. It tells that religion is a way to obtain power and richness. And that all this can be based on a cynical circumvention. But it is like Bellocchio didn't have the certainty it was all fake. It's like he didn't want to see and show it all. Maybe because he hasn't the courage to admit that Church hasn't an irreplaceable social role. Maybe because Church can be both a powerful enemy and a powerful friend. Maybe because he feels he cannot change it. So he suggests a convenient solution: to find a love, because sweetness can help you forget, to be an artist to deceive yourself, cure your wounded honor and be faithful. I would suggest not forgetting religion makes men martyrs and devils, anyway a great movie!