There’s a simmering undercurrent of violence in 1970s Rome, a sense that the city is about to tear itself apart. In the rush to develop, deprived areas are torn down to make way for shiny new apartments and a rising tide of affluence. Corners of urban wilderness full of mystery and shrouded by rushes – forbidden playgrounds for the three children of Clara (Penélope Cruz) – disappear almost overnight.
That the city itself is grappling with a process of transition is no accident. The latest film from Emanuele Crialese (The Golden Door, Respiro) is in part a turbulent, semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story focused on Clara’s oldest child, 12-year-old Adri (Luana Giuliani), christened Adriana, but who prefers to go by the male name Andrea (it’s a personal story for Crialese, who revealed after the film’s premiere last year that he is a trans man). Conservative Roman society is not sympathetic towards a child who questions their gender identity; nor is it forgiving of women such as impulsive, wildly unhappy Clara who don’t quite toe the line.
