When the most important friend in her life seems to disappear without trace, Elena Greco, an elderly woman living in a house crammed with books, switches on her PC and starts writing her own story, and that of Lila. She tells the tale of their friendship, which started at school in the 1950s. Set in a dangerous but fascinating Naples, it is just the start of a story spanning sixty years of life. A tale that attempts to unveil the mystery of Lila, Elena's brilliant friend. Her best friend, and her worst enemy.
I have just finished season 1 and I loved it. It absolutely has the feel and pathos of neo-realism. All the despair, rage, and violence of post-war Italy is there that Rossellini, Di Seca and Fellini brought to their work. Every aspect of the production, the sets, the casting, the particular method of acting, the direction, gives the sense that it was filmed 60-70 years ago. The difference is that it's focus is on the inner lives of women, although the men play heavily in it as well. Because I love Italian neo-realism, I was enraptured by it. Because the story is about girls and their transformation into women under oppressive and desperate circumstances, I am all in.