L'Attesa

Filmmaker Piero Messina's L'Attesa ("The Wait") opens with a funeral where mourners pay their respects in a shadowy church as tears run down the face of Anna (Juliette Binoche), a heartbroken mother. Afterward, Anna drifts about her under-lit mansion in a daze until Jeanne (Lou de Laâge) arrives to visit Anne's son, Giuseppe, unaware that the latter died while she was traveling from France. Instead of telling the truth, Anna says that her own brother has died, which doesn't explain Giuseppe's absence, but Jeanne assumes that there is a connection. Anna's handyman, Pietro (Giorgio Colengelo), sees what's going on, but decides not to interfere. Anna uses the ruse to spend time with Jeanne, who introduces Anna to a side of her son that she never knew. Anna also listens to the messages that Jeanne leaves on Giuseppe's cell phone, which certainly violates Jeanne's privacy, but also helps Anna understand what the two meant to each other. When Jeanne meets two young men while swimming at the lake, it complicates matters further, while Anna's next move proves the depth of her desperation to cling to the past. An impressive character study, this is recommended. (K. Fennessy)