My Mother's Smile
by Marco Bellocchio
List Price:
Our Price: $22.27
You Save: $7.68 (26%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.77 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Chiara Conti, Gianfelcie Imparto, Jacqueline Lustig, Piera Degli Esposti, Sergio CastellittoDirector: Marco Bellocchio
Brand: NYF
Writer: Marco Bellocchio
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Italian (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Italian (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-05-16
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: New Yorker Video
Movie Reviews of My Mother's Smile
Movie Review: What is a Saint?
Summary: 5 Stars
Marco 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, June 06
Summary of My Mother's Smile
As with his feature debut, Fists in the Pocket [1965], Marco Bellocchio?s My Mother?s Smile was deemed blasphemous by the Roman Catholic Church for what the Church referred to as Bellocchio?s "systematic destruction of family and religious values." Contrary to the Church?s presumptions about Bellocchio, My Mother?s Smile is a fascinating portrait of a man (Sergio Castellitto as Ernesto) who is forced to reconcile with his own atheism after receiving a shocking appeal from the Church requesting his participation in the canonization of his "saintly" mother.The Church supports the claim that Ernesto?s mother held miraculous healing powers, but if she is going to be ordained, the Church needs to prove that her violent death, at the hands of the most unlikeliest person, culminated with a vow of forgiveness for her murderer. Ernesto?s relationship to the murderer provides the Church with its last chance of uncovering the truth, but he is reluctant to succumb to his family?s pressure and schemes. Overwhelmed by the fact that he didn?t sense the conspiracy beneath him, the conflicts haunting him come to the fore and his memory of his mother opens up a gaping chasm that forces him to reconsider the past and live the present differently.
My Mother's Smile, directed by Marco Bellochio (Fists in the Pocket) who is known for challenging Catholism?s stronghold in Italian culture, tells the story of the making of a modern-day saint. Painter Ernesto Picciafuocco's (Sergio Castellitto) mother is about to be canonized, after papal hearings determine whether or not she forgave her other son, Egidio, while he was murdering her. Following the crime, family friend Fillipo Argenti is miraculously healed while thinking of her, solidifying her nomination. Ernesto, an atheist, considers supporting this falsity for the wellbeing and wealth of the family, and for his son, Leonardo, who has growing interest in Catholicism. Leonardo's mother, Irene (Jacqueline Lustig), separated from Ernesto, also urges him to comply with the Cardinal's process. Ernesto, torn between establishing the truth and satisfying his family, embarks on an arduous journey of self-investigation, reinforcing his beliefs that morality is based in honesty rather than on standards dictated by organized religion. Beautifully composed, and well written, My Mother's Smile offers a sophisticated view of sainthood, one acknowledging both its spiritual and political aspects. Ernesto's liberal-minded, philosophical approach to the topic makes heavy religion more palatable while emphasizing the Vatican's cultural influence on Rome. Extras include an interview with Sergio Castellitto, a conversation between Castellitto and Bellochio, and a mini-documentary, "A Day on the Set." --Trinie Dalton
Similar DVD Movies
Henry IV (Enrico IV)Facets Multimedia; Release date: 2003-04-15; DVD
Best price: $18.37
Price in other shops:
Road to NowhereMHV; Release date: 2011-08-23; DVD
Best price: $12.22
Price in other shops:
My Brother Is an Only ChildImage Entertainment; Release date: 2008-08-05; DVD
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops:
Fists in the Pocket (The Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2006-04-25; DVD
Best price: $16.00
Price in other shops:
Identification of a Woman (Criterion Collection)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2011-10-25; DVD
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops:
IncantatoGPI; Release date: 2006-04-25; DVD
Best price: $7.12
Price in other shops:
Good Morning, NightWellspring Media INC; Release date: 2006-03-21; DVD
Best price: $10.93
Price in other shops:
The NannyFacets Multimedia; Release date: 2003-07-01; DVD
Best price: $17.49
Price in other shops:
VincereMPI; Release date: 2010-07-27; DVD
Best price: $10.34
Price in other shops:
The Wedding DirectorNEW Yorker Films Video; Release date: 2008-12-16; DVD
Best price: $21.55
Price in other shops: