Review: Emma Dante's 'The Macaluso Sisters'

In a moving story that spans several decades, “The Macaluso Sisters” follows five orphaned sisters born and raised in an apartment on Palermo’s outskirts. They support themselves by renting out pigeons for events, a unique and symbolic business that reflects their resourcefulness and the transient nature of their lives.

Directed by Emma Dante, who adapted the script from her 2014 play of the same name, the film boasts an all-female cast that brings a unique power to the story. It unfolds in three chapters that show how the tragic events of one day haunt the sisters through childhood, adulthood and old age.

The first chapter reveals the tragedy of the youngest sister, Antonella, who dies during a beach outing. She remains a permanent presence in the household, never aging. The film returns again and again to the beauty of the day at the beach when tragedy struck. The apartment is a central character, housing the memories and rage each sister carries inside her. This exploration of memory and loss adds a profound depth to the film’s narrative.

In the second chapter, guilt and emotions get the best of the adult sisters, proving that although years have passed, the memory of that day remains frozen in time. “‘The Macaluso Sisters’ is a film about time, memory, things that last, and people who remain even after their death,” Dante said while promoting the film in 2021. “It is a film about old age as the incredible finishing line of life.”

Dante drew from her background in theater when embarking on her second directing effort. Her 2013 debut film, “Via Castellana Bandiera” (“A Street in Palermo”), which was adapted from her novel, earned her numerous awards and accolades. It, too, focuses on the delicate and tumultuous relationship between women dealing with family and loss as it follows two women of different generations who meet when they drive down a narrow one-way street. Both drivers are experiencing frustration and conflict in their own lives, and they’re not in the mood to give in and let the other through. So, there they stay, camped out in their cars, until one is forced by dire circumstances to finally move.

Gherardo Gossi, the cinematographer for both films, perfectly captures the atmosphere of lazy summer days at the beach and the innocence of childhood in “The Macaluso Sisters.” In contrast, he also drives home the impact of the intense heartache these women endure day in and day out after losing their beloved sibling. Gossi’s framing, combined with the set design and lighting, powerfully conveys the torment and misery they carry over not having prevented the accident.

Setting “The Macaluso Sisters” in one main location offers the audience a feeling of familiarity while reflecting the weight of the passage of time as the house ages along with the inhabitants, eventually seeming dreary and emotionally burdened.

In the third chapter, a sense of melancholy sets in when there is a break between the remaining sisters and the house. After watching them mourn and struggle in rooms that have become so familiar, we, too, have to learn to let go. The emotional connection that we feel to the setting speaks to the director’s skill in creating a bond with the audience. It is not hard to imagine these rooms on a stage in a theater as the actors enter and exit. That constant movement disappears at the end and we are left with a forlorn shell that once housed so much laughter, tears and activity.

That sense of closing down a house filled with so many memories — both good and bad— is something we can all relate to as our grandparents and parents age, and we have to say goodbye to now-empty places that once were bursting with life. Dante conveys this experience so deftly in her film, showing that regardless of where we come from, we all share these lived-in spaces and human experiences.

Click here to stream “The Macaluso Sisters” on Amazon.

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