Times may change, but the plight of women seem to be an unending loop of issues and subjugation that transcend decades and centuries. While women today may have better options than their mothers and generations in the past, a lot of women still end up in toxic and abusive relationships without any way to leave or hope for their own future. But what if you could change the future or your daughters? Would you do it?
There’s Still Tomorrow is a new movie that is hitting select theaters this weekend and offers a bit of hope for women in desperate situations, or ones that don’t know what to do next. Following the story of Delia, a mother of three in Rome after World War II. Not only is her husband abusive physically, but controlling to her and her daughter, while letting their sons run wild. The city is still filled with American soldiers, and when Delia sees an opportunity to make a change in her life and her daughters, will she be strong enough to take it?
What’s striking about There’s Still Tomorrow is the characters are so relatable. Most viewers often think of the time period of the last World War as so long ago, but the movie doesn’t make them feel distant or ancient that we often see done in other films. Instead, the movie makes you feel that Delia and neighbors and friends could be someone you know. And the fact is, there’s a good chance that we all know a Delia or another woman going through something similar.
With moments of strength, moments of sadness and a longing for a life that could have been Delia withstands everything, and that right there is a bit of hopefulness we don’t see brought to the screen often. Working within the means she has, Delia makes sure she can regain some of the life she dreamed of all those years ago.
There’s Still Tomorrow leads you down a path, and towards a resolution that makes sense. But the reality, is just so much sweeter and stronger than you would expect. It’s a hopeful act of resistance and a moving moment that can’t be denied. And in the midst of all of it, a not so subtle message for women who are dealing with similar issues in the current world and political turmoil.
The mix of the black and white filming, the modern tosses of music that scenes are seamlessly choreographed to make it a hard look away. The movie is a juxtaposition of the times its supposed to be in, but a nice modern take on telling an older story.
There’s Still Tomorrow will be released in select theaters this weekend.
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About There’s Still Tomorrow
Set in post-war 1940s Rome, There’s Still Tomorrow tells the story of Delia (Paola Cortellesi), a working-class wife and mother trapped in a toxic marriage. American GI’s still patrol the streets, but change is in the air. Yet everything remains the same for Delia whose romantic fantasies have given way to an embrace of her roles as dutiful wife and loving mother despite the sneering condescension and outright physical abuse at the hands of her strutting petty tyrant husband Ivano (Valerio Mastandrea).
His misogyny is only exceeded by his bedridden father’s whose care falls to Delia in between her myriad other chores and odd jobs. Delia sees the engagement of her daughter Marcella (Romana Maggiora Vergano) to her middle-class boyfriend as the girl’s big opportunity to avoid her same fate. But everything changes when a mysterious letter arrives and fires up Delia’s courage to turn the tables and start striving for a better life – and not just for herself.