L' immensità

Penélope Cruz stars as a mother trying to negotiate her relationship with her eldest child in this thoughtful meditation on gender identity.

Rome, 1970s. Clara (Penélope Cruz) is a fun-loving mother who prefers to mess around at the children’s table rather than socialise with the adults, but whose seemingly carefree attitude conceals an internal struggle. She moves her family to a new apartment in a run-down neighbourhood with crumbling buildings that seem to mirror her fracturing state of mind. Meanwhile, Clara’s 12-year-old (Luana Giuliani) is having a formative summer of their own, christened Adriana but who wishes to be referred to by the male name Andrea, as they question their gender identity and try to figure out who they are.

Nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival 2022, Emanuele Crialese (Terrafirma) delivers a thoughtful meditation on childhood trauma and shifting identity, accentuated with vibrant black-and-white fantasy sequences.