In 1944, a young deserter (Giuseppe De Domenico) arrives in a small village in the mountains of northern Italy, where he falls in love with the daughter (Martina Scrinzi) of the well-respected local teacher (Tommaso Ragno).

The life of the director’s father inspired Maura Delpero to make this film and, together with her cinematographer, she meticulously documents the traditions and conservative values of this remote, wintry place 80 years ago.

It draws you in with its achingly beautiful, well-composed images and crafts a slow, sad but engrossing tale about patriarchy, wartime romances and the complicated transitioning into adulthood.

2024-Italy-France-Belgium. 119 min. Color. Widescreen. Written and directed by Maura Delpero. Cinematography: Mikhail Krichman. Cast: Martina Scrinzi (Lucia Graziadei), Tommaso Ragno (Cesare Graziadei), Roberta Rovelli (Adele Graziadei), Giuseppe De Domenico (Pietro Riso), Rachele Potrich, Patrick Gardner. 

Venice: Grand Jury Prize.

Last word: “When I write a script, I always try to go to the territory; even for documentaries, I do this. I always go there because I want to be exposed with the five senses to everything. It really influences, and also it’s very creative, and you catch little details and you add them in the script, which you often didn’t even imagine. But then they become so important because they talk about a culture. Isolated villages like Vermiglio kept their culture. Some tourist places in the valley are more similar to the city, but a village like Vermiglio is another thing. It’s another dimension still even now.” (Delpero, RogerEbert.com)