Feminist ‘There’s Still Tomorrow’ Unpredictable Success Brings Italy Upsurge

Feminist films have been flourishing for several years now, as Portrait of a girl burning on fire, Women or even Scandal. A recent American film barbieby Greta Gerwig (Doctors Daughters March), a female single, broke all box office records, charting in all countries where it was programmed. A success partly due to the 5-star casting of this massive production, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, as well as the huge budget invested in its promotion. Means very different from those attributed to the film There’s still tomorrowthe first feature film of the actress Paola Cortelesi, which was shown in Italian cinemas on October 26, and which, however, broke all records in her country.

barbie And Oppenheimer, which were neck-and-neck for the highest-grossing cinematographic works of the year, topping the Italian box office. The former, which collected $1.4 billion worldwide, had 4.3 million admissions in the subcontinent against the latter’s 3.7 million. There’s still tomorrow smashed both with a total of 4.8 million hits in two months. An incredible score for a black and white film, far from a blockbuster and with a bright theme. the depths of the patriarchal and fascist society of post-war Italy. But when we didn’t expect it, how do we explain this incredible success, or rather this feat?

Domestic violence

First, let’s go back to the story. The film takes place in 1946 on the streets of the working-class district of Testaccio in Rome. Post-war Italy is sclerotic, but the boots are nevertheless about to see the birth of a new Republic, where women’s suffrage is debated. . Director Paola Cortellesi goes behind and in front of the camera, where she plays Delia, a poor mother beaten by her husband but determined to fight, like many women in the country, for this wave of freedom. The film, both cold and aspirational, highlights the spirituality and mutual aid of this era amidst the harsh reality. “These heroines embody feminine pride,” explains the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, to justify the success of the film. Instead of telling a story of rebellion and emancipation, the feature film focuses on the story of subjugation and humiliation of these women, which ignited public sympathy.

Indeed, the aim here is to paint a faithful portrait of the daily lives of domestically abused Italian women in the 1940s and prisoners of a patriarchal society. There’s still tomorrow Women like Delia wake up every day to the beatings of their husbands before cooking for their children and going to work in a factory for a few pennies. An era that has since evolved with the movement Me too and the liberation of women’s voices over the years, but which nonetheless still resonates in today’s society plagued by patriarchy and femicide. “There’s still tomorrow Paola Cortelesi explained to the newspaper the strong chord, the raw nerve of the Italian society. The world justify its success. The film shows the older generation, which is subjected to violence. But the news also affects them.

“I killed my girlfriend”

It must be said that just a few days after the release of the feature film, on October 26, Italy was shocked by the 105th femicide of the year, that of 22-year-old Giulia Cecchettini, who was stabbed to death by her ex-partner. His body was found in a ravine on November 18, while the murderer, one Filippo Turetta, originally from Padua, was arrested by the police near Leipzig, Germany. During his arrest, he told the police. “I killed my girlfriend.” A true shockwave, photos of the young woman were shown across the country while the film continued to screen in Italian cinemas. Many demonstrations have taken place to protest this disgusting news. November 25, in particular, the World Day against Violence against Women, which brought together about 500,000 people.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also expressed her anger. “In the last days we all hoped that Julia was alive. Unfortunately, our worst fears came true. He was killed. I feel immense sadness, seeing the smiling photos of this young girl, and with sadness, great anger. It should be noted that as of November 19, according to the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 106 women were killed in 2023. 87 in the family or emotional sphere, including 55 from a partner or ex-husband.