Movie review: ‘The First Beautiful Thing’

Paolo Virzi’s lyrical, wry memory film, “The First Beautiful Thing,” (“La Prima Cosa Bella”) takes its title from a song a young mother sings to her two small children in the early ‘70s, when she was named Summer Momma in a contest held in Livorno. Now, it’s 2009, and Anna (the incomparable Stefania Sandrelli) is dying of cancer and longing to reconnect with her estranged son, Bruno (Valerio Mastandrea), a failed artist with a drug problem who teaches at a trade school.

“The First Beautiful Thing,” a 2011 foreign film Oscar nominee, does a superb job of exploring the complicated relationship between mother and son, which stretches back to that contest win — an event that sparked so much jealousy in Bruno’s father (Sergio Albelli) that it ultimately led to the family’s dissolution.

The film alternates between past and present, telling the story of the exuberant Anna (played in her younger days by Micaela Ramazzotti) and her struggle to raise Bruno and his sister, Valeria (Claudia Pandolfi), and her later attempts to repair her relationship with Bruno before it’s too late.

Throughout there is a growing emotional undertow, suggesting the need for the disaffected middle-aged Bruno to come to terms with a radiant, resilient mother. With consummate skill and tenderness, Virzi instills a growing hope that Bruno and Anna can find common ground.

“The First Beautiful Thing.” No MPAA rating. In Italian with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours, 2 minutes. At selected theaters.