“The Times, Are They A’Changin’?

“The Times, Are They A’Changin’?”
A Brief Comment about this month’s film, “There’s Still Tomorrow”
Mountain Shadow Director, John Bennison

“Stringiamo le schede come biglietti d’amore.”
[trans: “We clutched our ballots like love notes.” - Anna Garofalo]

Film Synopsis: Comedian Paola Cortellesi’s black-and-white directorial debut follows Delia, a working-class mother who experiences domestic abuse at the hands of her military veteran husband. Delia suffers in silence, but then a mysterious letter arrives giving her the courage to change the circumstances of her life. As empowering as it is humorous, the film movingly depicts -- as the filmmaker puts it -- “the plight and grace of the many ordinary women who have built our country.” NR - Comedy/drama - Italian, w/ English subtitles - 118 min.Because this film is not being released elsewhere in the U.S. until next year, we do not have available to share with our audience information from a press kit with the typical film director’s statement, etc. But without giving anything away, this new film expresses a genre known as Italian neorealism; which was a film movement in the post-WWII era (hence, filmed in B&W) characterized by stories about poor working class struggles,.

The themes, however, are universal in this dark comedy / melodrama that portrays social realities that are as contemporaneous and cross-cultural as any we might readily recognize today: women’s rights and assertiveness in the face of spousal abuse, social class distinctions, looking for love in all the right places, and the triumphal importance of one-person / one-vote.

For anyone who might be more than a little distraught or dismayed with the times that are a’changin,’ try to remember ... there’s still tomorrow. jb