Le sorelle Macaluso (2020)

Directed by: Emma Dante | 94 minutes | drama | Actors: Alissa Maria Orlando, Susanna Piraino, Anita Pomario, Eleonora De Luca, Donatella Finocchiaro, Viola Pusateri, Serena Barone, Simona Malato, Laura Giordani, Maria Rosaria Alati, Rosalba Bologna, Ileana Rigano

‘Le Sorelle Macaluso’ is a Sicilian family epic from a female perspective. Well, that last one is a bit misleading. The viewer looks at five sisters, in the first half of the film, during their adolescence in the 90s; in the second half when they have reached middle age.
The setting of beautiful girls in poor Palermo is of course fantastic: vibrant young flowers in the faded glory, what more could you want?

A good story, we can be direct. The well-known Satie sounds, even well-known, are not necessary. Emma Dante first introduces us to Maria, Pinuccia, Lia, Katia and Antonella, and does so with a loving eye. But if you want to get to know women, above all, listen. In this area it remains with impressions; the visual side is excellently designed, but as you know it can both enchant and disenchant.

Get to know us women. An example: a lady who does her utmost to shine white shoes, with a virgin white dove on the windowsill, tells a whole story, but which one? It remains a beautiful indefinable image in this sister idyll with foot stings, and the cinematic transition from young to mature (excusi) can be called schematic.

Older sisters read beautiful life wisdom to each other from novels, but there is no integral tension. ‘Le Sorelle Macaluso’ is especially enjoyable as an impressionistic cartoon, about aging, external pride and caring. Feminine values, gentle forces that can sometimes be centrifugal for the straightforward being the man. A creature largely missing from ‘Le Sorelle’. That’s okay.