A Whole Life Ahead

An Italian comedy drama set in a call centre. Marta finished a philosophy degree with distinction. She is waiting for an academic post that never comes and has to live. First she works as a babysitter, then joins the place her flatmate works: the call centre of an electronics company. What the film describes is the culture of that office. There is a motivational dance in the morning, a company song, a prize for whoever sells the most, and humiliation for whoever misses target. Most of the staff are young and all are on temporary contracts. Marta finds the arrangement strange at first, then turns out to be good at it and starts rising. The real question is what a person loses by adapting to a system they do not like. The source is a book written by someone who worked in a call centre. Isabella Ragonese plays Marta; Sabrina Ferilli, Valerio Mastandrea, Elio Germano and Massimo Ghini are in the cast. Paolo Virzì directed. The film placed itself inside the Italian argument over precarious work and was much discussed at the time. A well-aimed example for anyone who likes Italian comedy drama and films that look at working life. For a viewer expecting hard criticism, the film keeps its register close to comedy and is gentle with its characters.