Mar nero

Angela, a young Romanian who leaves her husband and her country to go to Italy to earn some money, is looking after Gemma, an elderly invalid. The latter has limited mobility, suffers constantly in her joints and from numerous problems due to her old age. Querulous and quick-tempered, she finds Angela’s presence difficult to deal with. Incapable however of managing alone, she is forced to accept assistance, as the only other option is an old people’s home. The recent death of Gemma’s husband Nedo adds to her pain, making her all the more capricious and aggressive. The days go by, and Angela does the shopping, cooking, cleaning. Despite the widow’s difficult personality, she manages to remain calm and sweet-tempered. Over the weeks, the women learn how to live together and bear with one another, even discovering they have several things in common. They go to Florence to lay flowers at Nedo’s grave. A genuine bond develops between the two women, both of whom have had to deal with bereavement; Angela also lost a loved one, her mother, when she was a child. Unfortunately Angela, who is still very much in love with her husband, with whom she hoped to have children, has had no news of him since she left. He seems to have disappeared into thin air. Seeing no reason to remain in Italy and save up for a dream that now seems unlikely, Angela decides to go home to find her partner. Unwilling to understand, and very selfish, Gemma initially stands in her way, but ultimately supports her in this trying time and decides to go with her to Romania. Shot in both Italy and Romania, constantly moving between the two languages, Mar Nero brings together two generations and two cultures with a touch of poetry, offering a nuanced and sensitive portrayal of the two women.