Director Laura Luchetti’s latest feature, La Bella Estate, deftly explores universal coming-of-age themes as it follows one young woman’s journey of self-discovery.
Set in Turin in 1938, siblings Ginia (Yile Yara Vianello) and Severino (Nicolas Maupas) have left the countryside in favour of exploring all that city life has to offer. Ginia has a great job working as a seamstress with potential to rise through the ranks in an industry she loves, as her skill and initiative prove to open pathways for her. Yet, she yearns for love and adventure. Meanwhile, Severino has set himself up socially but struggles to find stable work that will also allow him to pursue his academic passions.
When Ginia meets the bohemian Amelia (Deva Cassel) and her collective of artist friends, Ginia is drawn by the confident sense of freedom they exude in their lifestyles, relationships, and work. In particular, Ginia is awed by and attracted to Amelia, in whose work as a nude model Ginia sees reflected her own desire to be seen and loved.
As Ginia spends more and more time with Amelia, Ginia’s feelings for her grow deeper. However, Severino’s vocal disapproval of Amelia and Ginia’s own self-doubt and uncertainty make her hesitate to take the first step. It seems like Amelia returns Ginia’s feelings, but Ginia finds it hard to perceive, especially when Amelia hasn’t made a move and also involves herself with others.
With both young women hesitating to voice their feelings and make the approach, they reach for alternatives in place of each other. For Ginia, she finds that person in Guido (Alessandro Piavani), one of Amelia’s artist friends. Guido and Ginia strike up an affair in which Ginia finds a space to explore sexually, live more independently, and slowly build the confidence to ask for what she wants. All the while, the two young women circle each other, edging ever closer to their true desires.
Typically, Ginia finds herself so caught up in the whirlwind of her new lifestyle and romance that she becomes distracted. She is consistently late to work and forgets to do parts of her job, threatening everything she has worked for. And she becomes distant from Severino, in part because of his vocal opposition to her newfound friendships.
When things take a turn for the worse, it forces Ginia to confront her feelings and get herself back on track, particularly with work but also with some of her relationships, by finding a more balanced approach to life. Where some relationships end, new ones begin, and others find ways to heal.
Despite being set in the past, the coming-of-age themes are universal and the story tackles them with a contemporary lens. Aided significantly by her great cast, Luchetti, who wrote the screenplay, evokes the turbulence of first love. We see this in Ginia’s heady rush of feelings compounded by swirling confusion and self-doubt, and the way she loses herself a little in the onslaught of it all.
The film also nicely captures a young woman’s journey as she explores new feelings, new experiences, a burgeoning sexuality, and also different versions of herself on the road to identity and true adulthood.
Beautiful cinematography from Diego Romero Suarez Llanos and an atmospheric colour palette evoke a magical realism and whimsical nostalgia that complement the story’s coming-of-age themes and Ginia’s sense of wonder as she discovers a whole new side of life.
Luchetti has previously directed shorts, features, and TV, and has worked across live-action and animation. La Bella Estate is loosely based on the eponymous novel by Cesare Pavese.
The film will have its world premiere at this year’s Locarno Film Festival as part of the Piazza Grande selection, which is described as the heart and showcase of the festival.
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