The latest film by Silvia Luzi and Ca Bellino is an intriguing but perplexing piece of work; it’s nebulous and indirect, with a narrative that feels unfinished and keeps eluding the viewer. It’s a type of film where the depth isn’t always or maybe ever expressed. The primary character’s face is frequently seen in extremely close-up shots, creating a mood that suggests the meaning of the movie may be hidden away.
The protagonist of the movie is Marianna Fontana, a young Italian lady who works in an unhappy leather garment factory and hails from a rough seaside village. On an automated production line, she works as one of several women who stretch and spread leather pieces. The owner/manager is a man who occasionally penalizes employees by making them labor upstairs on the “drum,” where they must move heavy loads of leather to the factory floor.
During her cousin’s first holy communion, this young woman happens to be at a big family get-together. Her cousin is wearing a white gown that resembles a bridal gown. She bemoans the absence of a special person from her life, the horrible shoes she had to wear, and her communion. There seems to be a slight romantic interest between our protagonist and a young photographer who is gaining attention for his artistic drone photography. Subsequently, he demonstrates to her how the drone operates and how it can spy on people while taking her for a drive. Why she finds it so fascinating is unclear, though.
Undoubtedly, the entire encounter appears to set off a mental breakdown in her; alternatively, it can be a heavenly encounter entailing hallucinations or another world in her thoughts. An older man’s voice can be heard on the weird phone calls she starts getting. Is it her dad? Or someone her father had a friend? She starts to believe that it is her father as these discussions go on, but is this all in her head? Does he serve time in prison? Does that sound like just another dramatic and romantic fantasy? In an attempt to appease her father, she begins to fabricate things in her life, but is this all just in her head? Along with her purported interest is a dashing young Milanese fashion designer. He phones, and she pretends to be preparing a fancy late dinner for friends. So where is the truth in this situation?
The photographer shows the extended family the final cut of the holy communion movie, setting up a sort of dramatic, if enigmatic, conclusion for us. One very striking image from this is of the young woman smoking thoughtfully on the beach. At first, it shows her from afar, but later, it zooms in closer. However, at first, we weren’t able to see that drone through her eyes. I feel like I’ve fully disassociated. In my opinion, “Luce” is a riddle about how we perceive or construct ourselves. It reads like a lucid dream or a dream that has been remembered.
