Mid-August Lunch

Gianni lives in Rome with his mother. He is past fifty, has no work, and his days go in caring for her. His debts have piled up. The building manager comes with an offer: if he looks after his mother too over the August holiday, part of the debt will be cleared. Gianni agrees. The man arrives with two women; he leaves his mother and his aunt. Then Gianni's doctor calls and leaves his mother as well. There are four old women in the flat. Each wants something different: one will not eat pasta, one wants the television, one drinks wine in secret. Gianni Di Gregorio wrote, directed and played the lead; it is his first feature. It is an Italian production. The four old women are not professional actors and use their own names in their parts. Matteo Garrone is among the producers; Di Gregorio had written a screenplay for him earlier. The film won the first feature award at the Venice Film Festival. It was shot in Di Gregorio's own home and neighbourhood on a very small budget. The matter it treats is the load of care; the film shows it as an everyday condition rather than a drama. It runs short and there is almost no plot; the narrative is built on food, medicine and talk. Its limit is scale; the narrative is small and it would be wrong to wait for a large development. Who it is for: viewers who like Italian cinema and quiet everyday comedy. Who it is not for: there is no event, the pace very low, and the ending quiet.