Vittorio De Sica’s 1970 drama “Sunflower” (“I girasoli”) is an emotionally charged and ultimately heartbreaking meditation on the lasting effects of war. Co-written by Tonino Guerra and De Sica’s decades-long collaborator, Cesare Zavattini , the film tells a profoundly human tale that grapples with love, loss and difficult choices. Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni star as Giovanna and Antonio, a young Italian couple who marry quickly during World War II in the hopes of delaying Antonio’s deployment. After only a few weeks together, Antonio is sent to the Russian front anyway. When he does not return after the war, Giovanna refuses to accept his presumed death. Her determination to uncover the truth leads her from Italy to the Soviet Union, where she traces his footsteps and discovers that her gut feeling was right. De Sica shows that war’s impact extends far beyond the battlefield. Antonio’s absence is a pain that never goes away, and Giovanna cannot make peace with it. Her des...
An Italian box office hit and winner of six David di Donatello awards, “C'è ancora domani” (“There’s Still Tomorrow”) is actress Paola Cortellesi ’s highly regarded directorial debut. Set in the aftermath of World War II, the film paints a vivid portrait of post-war Rome, where liberation contrasts with lingering hardship. Cortellesi stars as Delia, a woman who lives within the strict confines of her role as wife and mother, dominated by her overbearing, abusive husband, Ivano ( Valerio Mastandrea ), and his demanding, bedridden father (Giorgio Colangeli). Her greatest hope rests on her daughter, Marcella (Romana Maggiora Vergano), whose engagement to the respectable Giulio (Francesco Centorame) seems, at first, like a possible escape from the cycle of female submission that comes with being on the brink of poverty. The story takes an emotional turn when a mysterious letter awakens Delia’s long-suppressed courage, pushing her to question the so-called traditional (gender) roles t...