L'ora di religione (Il sorriso di mia madre) (2002)

Director:

Marco Bellocchio

Writer:

Marco Bellocchio (written by)

Release Date:

19 April 2002 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A celebrated painter receives a visit from a cardinal's assistant, who informs him that his mother could become a saint.

Plot Keywords:

Cardinal | Painter | Saint | Plot | School Teacher

Awards:

14 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Sergio Castellitto	...	Ernesto Picciafuocco
Jacqueline Lustig	...	Irene Picciafuocco
Chiara Conti	...	Diana Sereni
Gigio Alberti	...	Ettore Picciafuocco
Alberto Mondini	...	Leonardo Picciafuocco
Gianfelice Imparato	...	Erminio Picciafuocco
Gianni Schicchi	...	Filippo Argenti (as Gianni Schicchi Gabrieli)
Maurizio Donadoni	...	Cardinal Piumini
Donato Placido	...	Egidio Picciafuocco
Renzo Rossi	...	Baldracchi
Pietro De Silva	...	Curzio Sandali
Bruno Cariello	...	Don Pugni
Piera Degli Esposti	...	Aunt Maria
Toni Bertorelli	...	Count Ludovico Bulla
Maria Luisa Bellocchio	...	Zia Ernesto

Also Known As:

My Mother's Smile (USA)
The Religion Hour (Europe: English title)
The Religion Hour (My Mother's Smile) (International: English title)

Runtime:

103 min | Argentina:105 min (Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema) | France:102 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Italy:VM14

Company:

Filmalbatros

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Marco Bellocchio]Man with Count Bulla at the party.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Buongiorno, notte (2003)

Soundtrack:

Musica Celestis

Somber look at Italian Catholicism

Interesting, hard to categorize (not a tragedy, not a comedy, maybe somewhat of a satire?) movie about a son who's mother (assumed to be anything BUT saintly) is being recommended for Sainthood. Movie seems to believe that the Catholic church hasn't done a very good job of assessing her qualifications....and given the current problems the Catholic Church is facing in America....it's quite believable. The tone is pretty somber; some of the plot is confusing at times, and I wondered if there was supposed to be a "higher meaning" than the action on screen? But even though there seemed to be lots of loose ends, it made me think....though no conclusions could be drawn. Part of the Chicago International Film Festival....fits that genre well.