With the film "Life ahead", Sophia Loren returns to the cinema as a protagonist. The film, directed by his son Edward Ponti, will be available since November 13 exclusively on the streaming platform Netflix. This is the third time that mother and son have worked together, after "Extraneous Hearts", in 2002, and the medium-length film "Human Voice", in 2013. For Loren, who returns to the big screen after years of absence, we are already talking about Oscar.
The actress will be Madame Rosa
In "Life in front of himself", which is the adaptation of the novel of the same name by Romaine Gary, the actress plays Madame Rosa, an elderly Jewish survivor of Auschwitz, who takes care of the children of prostitutes in her small apartment in Bari, the city where the film is set. Among them is Momo, a turbulent Senegalese boy, who has robbed her. Between the two, so different in age, ethnicity, religion, a deep friendship is born. The film - Loren commented during the (virtual) presentation press conference - “carries the message of tolerance, forgiveness, love. We all have the right to be seen and heard. We have the right to be loved and have our dreams come true ”. Next to her, in the cast, there are the newcomer Ibrahim Gueye (Momo), Renato Carpentieri e Maximilian Rossi. In the soundtrack, written by Gabriel Yared, there is also the song “Io Sì / Seen”, sung by Laura Pausini, accompanied by a video clip directed by Ponti himself, in which the actress also appears at the end.
A nice story
Sophia Loren, winner of two Oscars and five Golden Globes, agreed to take on the role of Madame Rose because in the life of this woman, who reminds her of her mother's courage, she saw "a beautiful story, which deserved to be brought on the screen". Of his son Edoardo, who collaborated with Ugo Chiti in the writing of the screenplay for “Life in front of himself”, he said: “It made me return to the desire to make films that I had at the time when I started. It's a real gift to be able to work with someone who knows you so well. Having him behind the camera, I was free to give my all. It is an experience that I will keep forever, as an actress and also as a mother ”. Edoardo, for his part, expressed words of great respect towards his mother, who, he said: “faces every film as if it were the first. This makes her the person she is, the artist she is ”.
Loren and the pandemic fears
During the press conference for the presentation of "Life ahead", Loren also spoke about the difficult moment the world is experiencing. In commenting on the latest restrictions imposed by the government to address the pandemic, the actress did not hide her fears. “I am to follow the laws - he declared -, I don't go out, I'm afraid of everything. I would be very careful doing things that are prohibited. The connection between people is important but up to a certain point ". And he also expressed his thoughts on the closure of cinemas and theaters. “Cinema and theater - he concluded - are shelters where we can find ourselves and understand each other better. But health is also very important. The closure is sorry, but what can one do? ".
