Romana Maggiora Vergano

A huge hit in Italy where it ruled the box office and won eight David di Donatello Awards, Paola Cortelessi’s feature directing debut is a sharply observed slice of domestic life embroidered with flourishes, particularly on the soundtrack, that lift it out of the ordinary. As the film’s star, Cortelessi is stunning as woman whose apparent acquiescence to her situation hides her steely determination to better the situation, if not for herself, at least for her children. Shot in luminous black and white to mirror the Italian neorealism of the era, There’s Still Tomorrow speaks to the toxic misogyny and its attendant violence that is as prevalent now as it was then.

Director and star Paola Cortellesi’s There’s Still Tomorrow is her inventive and assured blend of neorealism, fantasy and darkly comedic drama to tell a powerful feminist story.

Set in post-World War II Rome, the story centers on Cortellesi’s Delia is an abused wife and mother of three who not only cares for her own house and her husband’s ill tempered, bedridden father but also works as a seamstress and maid. On payday, Delia routinely tucks some of her wages into her bra before handing over the rest to her mean and domineering husband. The domestic abuse is unpleasant to watch, even if Delia imagines it as musical interludes, with the physicality of dance substituting for slaps and punches. But slowly Delia awakens to the patriarchal tyranny she is living under.