Tarantella (1998)

When Diane, who left her home in Elizabeth, New Jersey to make it as a photographer in New York City, learns of her mother's recent death, she immediately returns to her Italian-American neighborhood. There, she finds solace with her grandmother's best friend, the wise and loving Pina. After scolding the young woman for forgetting her roots and her heritage, Pina takes it upon herself to teach Diane a thing or two about the past - beginning with a vivid and tragic journal Diane's mother left behind.