Tomorrow's a New Day

Giuliano is a stage actor who has decided to stop his cancer treatment. His old friend Tommaso, who lives in Canada, comes to Rome to see him for a few days. Giuliano's only real concern is his dog: who will take him afterwards. Over those days the two of them go from one vet to another and say goodbye to people, and they discuss none of it by name. Simone Spada directs. Marco Giallini plays Giuliano and Valerio Mastandrea plays Tommaso. It is a remake. The source is Truman, a Spanish and Argentine co-production from 2015 with Ricardo Darín and Javier Cámara, which did very well at the Goya awards. The Italian version keeps most of the plot and uses Rome instead of Madrid. What the film does is refuse to talk about death. Giuliano does not defend, explain or debate his decision, and the people around him keep talking about something else. The whole weight of the narrative sits in that avoidance. Giallini and Mastandrea work together often in Italian cinema, and the familiarity between them is directly useful here. Who it is for: viewers who like Italian drama and quiet films built on friendship. Who it is not for: if you have seen the original there is nothing new, and the film is emotionally heavy with no relief anywhere.