

Overburdened and stuck in a greying marriage, Giovanna takes to caring for a Jewish Holocaust survivor her husband brings home. As she begins to reflect on her life, she turns to the man who lives across from her.
Acting
Giovanna Mezzogiorno's face does an entire opera.
Cinematography
That window frame becomes a character—watch how it changes.
Score
Paolo Buonvino's music aches in all the right places.

Director
Ferzan Özpetek
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Massimo Girotti was 84 during filming and had actually fought in WWII; this was his final role, and he died before the premiere.
Özpetek, himself a Turkish-Italian gay man, deliberately queered the Holocaust narrative—Simone's hidden identity mirrors closeted experience across generations.