My Mother's Smile overflows with mildly interesting ideas and characters, but the end result is decidedly tepid.
My Mother's Smile (2005)
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Reviews Counted:25
Fresh:21
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: Castellitto's performance is the strong center of this surreal, fascinating film about a man's questioning of his religious beliefs and his relation to his mother.
Theatrical Release:Feb 11, 2005 Limited
Synopsis: Marco Bellochio's MY MOTHER'S SMILE is a challenging drama that raises several questions about potential hypocrisies within the Catholic religion. The film stars Sergio Castellitto (DON'T MOVE) as... Marco Bellochio's MY MOTHER'S SMILE is a challenging drama that raises several questions about potential hypocrisies within the Catholic religion. The film stars Sergio Castellitto (DON'T MOVE) as Ernesto, a renowned painter and unabashed atheist. Estranged from his wife Irene (Jacqueline Lustig), Ernesto nonetheless plays a role in the life of his young son Leonardo, who is coming to terms with his own religious beliefs. When Ernesto discovers that his mother, who was murdered years before by his mentally damaged brother, is being considered for canonization, he doesn't know how to react. That is because he continues to feel nothing but contempt for her. Gradually, Ernesto discovers that the hypocrisies that drove him away from the church in the first place might be playing a major role in the investigation surrounding his mother's canonization. From dishonest family members to manipulative Vatican emissaries to a beautiful young woman (Chiara Conti) who may or may not be a religion teacher, Ernesto must find his own morality in an increasingly immoral world. Filmed with painterly warmth by Pasquale Mari and featuring a characteristically soulful performance from Castellitto, MY MOTHER'S SMILE is Marco Bellochio at his most accomplished. [More]
Starring: Piera Degli Esposti, Toni Bertorelli, Sergio Castellitto, Jacqueline Lustig
Starring: Piera Degli Esposti, Toni Bertorelli, Sergio Castellitto, Jacqueline Lustig, Alberto Mondini, Chiara Conti
Director: Marco Bellocchio
Director: Marco Bellocchio
Screenwriter: Marco Bellocchio
Producer: Marco Bellocchio, Sergio Pelone
Composer: Riccardo Giagni
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Reviews for My Mother's Smile
Bellocchio's complex drama is held together by the tight and focused performance of Castellitto.
This superbly filmed Italian drama stands with Bellocchio's best work.
It's almost as if screenwriter/director Marco Bellocchio wants to exorcise personal demons rather than entertain.
Almost as fearless as its protagonist in taking on the politics of the Catholic Church and the hypocrisies of the religious-minded.
Bellocchio famously took on the Catholic Church and the Italian family in his frenetic first film ... Now 40 years later, Bellocchio's attack on the same institutions is calmer and more temperate.
The movie never gives us much reason to sympathize with its hero's plight.
Marco Bellocchio's expansive, memorable film floats and plummets like a box kite in a storm on drafts of melodrama, mysticism and humor.
Far from a blasphemy, My Mother's Smile is the story of one man's journey back to belief.
It is a riveting, rich portrait of an atheist who thinks he's resistant to faith but may be in the throes of a feverish conversion.
The quizzically abrupt ending leaves [too many] questions, and the viewer, hanging.
An artful look at religious hypocrisy, interfamily dynamics and the way people wrestle with personal history long after the original events are over.
It's messy and unsettled, but Bellocchio's distaste for the cynicism and mendacity is potent and sincere.
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