MONICA Discovery

MONICA

Screening to be followed by a conversation with director Andrea Pallaoro, producer Christina Dow and actors Trace Lysette and Patricia Clarkson.

Trace Lysette (TRANSPARENT) stars as the titular Monica, a self-reliant masseuse who has been estranged from her family since she was a teenager. She returns home upon learning that her mother, Eugenia (Patricia Clarkson), is ill and fast approaching death. At first apprehensive of bonding with her aloof family members, Monica starts to rekindle the warmth of these relationships while enduring quiet condescension from her mother, who initially fails to recognize her. After years of implicit tension, betrayal and pain, Monica and Eugenia are finally able to confront their resentments, albeit in silence. Lysette is beguiling as Monica in a breakout performance sprinkled with bursts of emotion and a stoic sense of contemplation. Director Andrea Pallaoro’s follow-up to HANNAH (AFI FEST 2017) is a graceful, sensitive portrait of evolution and healing in a divided family. –Julia Kipnis

Born in Italy, Andrea Pallaoro holds an MFA in Directing from CalArts. His first feature, MEDEAS, won several prestigious awards. His second feature, HANNAH, starring Charlotte Rampling, premiered at the 74th Venice Film Festival where Rampling won Best Actress. HANNAH was nominated for a César for Best Foreign Film.

Danny Gusman
The Exchange
danny@theexchange.ws

Details

Country: USA

Year: 2022

Director: Andrea Pallaoro

Screenwriters: Andrea Pallaoro, Orlando Tirado

Producers: Gina Resnick, Christina Dow, Eleonora Granata Jenkinson, Andrea Pallaoro

Executive Producers: Trace Lysette, Andrei Epifanov, David Schwarz, Steve Stanulis, Joana Henning

Director of Photography: Katelin Arizmendi

Editor: Paola Freddi

Production Designer: Andrew Clark

Cast/Featuring: Trace Lysette, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Browning, Joshua Close, Adriana Barraza

Running Time (minutes): 113

Language: English

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