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“There’s Still Tomorrow,” the stirring Italian box-office juggernaut of 2023, finally lands in American cinemas. Set in June 1946, just before Italian women first voted in elections, the beautifully crafted, slyly funny, black-and-white feminist dramedy looks at the resilience of an abused, working-class housewife in post-war Rome. It marks the audacious feature directing debut of talented multi-hyphenate Paola Cortellesi, who not only stars but also co-wrote the tight script with Furio Andreotti and Giulia Calenda. It sounds paradoxical to say that a film depicting violence against women is exhilarating, but the film’s handling of those scenes along with its adroit shifts in tone and top quality on every cinematic level make it something very special.

A critical as well as popular favorite, “There’s Still Tomorrow” debuted at the Rome Film Festival in 2023, where it nabbed three prizes, including the audience award. Since then, the film and its universal message of female...

Shot in radiant black and white and set in post-World War II Rome, Paola Cortellesi’s There’s Still Tomorrow is a darkly comedic drama about the experiences of one woman, Delia Santucci (Cortellesi), trapped in an abusive marriage. It’s a film about domestic violence that, while clearly intended as an homage to Italian neorealism, finds levity through choreographed musical numbers and moments of light magical realism.

The story begins with Delia’s husband, Ivano (Valerio Mastandrea), slapping her after she wishes him a good morning inside the cramped apartment they share with their children and Ivano’s bedridden father, Ottorino (Giorgio Colangeli). We see from the onset that Delia is treated like a maid, as she gets scolded by Ivano and Ottorino for her domestic shortcomings. Through it all, Marcella (Romana Maggiora Vergano), Delia’s teenage daughter, resents her mother’s helplessness. Set to a nostalgic song about Delia’s daily routine,...

In Stefano Usberghi’s music video for Genetik’s Sanctuary we’re introduced to an Alcoholics Anonymous group who are gathering in a dark, nondescript basement. Then, once everyone has arrived, the priest initiates the session but his methods of treatment are unique and unorthodox, to say the least. Usberghi’s video is a visual delight, with the writer/director embracing dark spaces and dingy lighting to infuse the atmosphere of his story with an almost unnerving edge before later exploring a much more frantic and dynamic approach when the priest’s methods are revealed. Dn is proud to premiere Sanctuary online today and is joined by Usberghi for a conversation below where we discuss his background as an experienced working cinematographer, the diligent planning that goes into his shotlists, and the key shift in style he wanted to take when the music drops at an important moment in the video.

Mafia Mamma is a film directed by Catherine Hardwicke starring the “almost” always great Toni Collette and Monica Bellucci, and this time, as great and wonderful as they are, they don’t manage to save a comedy with jokes that don’t end up being funny.

Bad start for a comedy, don’t you think?

Mafia Mamma Movie Review

Mafia Mamma is a parody crime thriller that without wanting to go anywhere and aware of this circumstance, limits itself to overflow with clichés (it was obvious), to drop more or less funny jokes and that relies on the two stars’ performances (especially Toni Collette’s) to save the movie from sinking.

And no matter how great he or she could be, no actor can save a bad script nor, dare we say, a bad editing at the level of rhythm. Thus, Mafia Mamma is sometimes placed in almost separate scenes without a common nexus that,...