L’attesa

Possession and control drive the precarious relationship between two women in L’ATTESA. Inside an enormous villa in the mountains of eastern Sicily, Anna (Juliette Binoche) is welling over with grief after the loss of her son, Giuseppe. His French girlfriend, Jeanne, arrives on the scene apparently oblivious to the recent tragic events. She has not heard from Giuseppe for days and leaves a barrage of voicemails on his phone wondering where he is. The backdrop is beautiful. The villa is cold and foreboding. Anna and Jeanne are meeting for the first time, and Anna cannot bring herself to tell Jeanne the truth. So they wait. Jeanne thinks she is waiting to reunite with her lover. Anna thinks she is somehow keeping Giuseppe alive by not speaking of his death. Piero Messina’s drama is contemplative and quiet as the waiting game plays out between matriarch and ingénue. It’s Easter weekend and, as Leonard Cohen sings Waiting for the Miracle, Anna hopes for a different kind of resurrection. (In Italian and French with subtitles) –C.O.