The Ties (2020)

Naples, early 1980s. The once-happy union between Aldo (Luigi Lo Cascio) and his wife Vanda (a superb Alba Rohrwacher) is ruptured one evening when Aldo admits, unprompted, that he has been unfaithful. Equally hurt and bewildered, Vanda attempts to hide her pain from the couple’s two school-age kids, lest they discover that their cramped apartment is not a home of trust and love.

30 years later, Aldo (Silvio Orlandi) and Vanda (Laura Morante) are still together, but their relationships with each other and grownup children Anna (Giovanni Mezzogiorno) and Sandro (Adriano Giannini) continue to be defined by what happened all those years ago.

The first Italian film in over a decade to premiere as Opening Night of the Venice Film Festival – a prestigious launchpad in recent years for high profile films such as ‘La La Land’, ‘Birdman’, ‘Gravity’ and ‘The Truth’ - Luchetti’s intricate and affecting portrait of family and the forces that bind us wrests new perspectives on age-old relationship conflicts. Effortlessly shifting back and forth through the years, distinguished by brilliant performances and authentic production design and building to a surprise conclusion, this emotional tour-de-force is a memorable viewing experience.