The Life Ahead
{{Short description|2020 Italian drama film directed by Edoardo Ponti}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Life Ahead
| image = The Life Ahead poster.webp
| alt =
| caption = Official poster
| director = Edoardo Ponti
| producer = {{Plainlist|
- Carlo Degli Esposti
- Nicola Serra
- Regina K. Scully
- Jamie Wolf
}}
| screenplay = {{Plainlist|
- Edoardo Ponti
- Ugo Chiti
}}
| based_on = {{based on|The Life Before Us|Romain Gary|Madame Rosa|by Moshé Mizrahi}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
- Sophia Loren
- Ibrahim Gueye
}}
| narrator =
| music = Gabriel Yared
| cinematography = Angus Hudson
| editing = Jacopo Quadri
| background_artist =
| production_companies = {{Plainlist|
- Palomar
- Impact Partners
- Artemis Rising
- Another Chance Productions
- Foothills Productions
}}
| distributor = Netflix
| released = {{Film date|2020|11|6|United States|2020|11|13|Italy}}
| runtime = 95 minutes
| country = Italy
| language = Italian
| budget =
| gross =
}}
The Life Ahead ({{langx|it|La vita davanti a sé}}) is a 2020 Italian drama film directed by Edoardo Ponti, from a screenplay by Ponti and Ugo Chiti. It is the third screen adaptation of the 1975 novel The Life Before Us by Romain Gary. It stars Sophia Loren, Ibrahim Gueye and Abril Zamora, and is set in Bari, Italy.
The film was preceded by Madame Rosa, a 1977 film based on the Gary novel, directed by Moshé Mizrahi and featuring Simone Signoret. Like the book, the first film version is set in Paris.{{Cite magazine|title=The Life Ahead Brings Sofia Loren Back to the Screen in a Tearjerker That Fully Earns Its Tears|url=https://time.com/5911437/the-life-ahead-review-sofia-loren/|author=Zacharek, Stephanie |date = November 13, 2020|access-date=November 24, 2020|magazine=Time}}
The Life Ahead was given a limited release on November 6, 2020, followed by digital streaming on Netflix on November 13.
Plot
Madam Rosa is a former prostitute and Jewish Holocaust survivor who provides a home in her apartment for the children of other "working women" in the Italian port city of Bari, Apulia. After Momo, a 12-year-old, orphaned, Senegalese immigrant, robs her, Dr. Coen, the boy's foster guardian, who also happens to be Rosa's doctor, brings her stolen items back and makes the boy apologize. Coen offers Rosa money to take in the boy and look after him for a couple of months, and she reluctantly agrees.
Momo, who has been kicked out of school for stabbing a bully with a pencil, secretly sells drugs for a dealer in Bari, but Rosa also finds him work with Hamil, a kind Muslim shopkeeper. All of these adults try to guide the boy. Rosa's neighbor and friend Lola, a transgender prostitute, whose daughter Rosa looks after, helps Rosa as she begins to decline mentally. At times she is lucid while at others she is catatonic.
Rosa and Momo develop a deep bond, and after he becomes her only ward, he quits selling drugs. Although her health is declining, Rosa asks Momo to promise to keep her out of hospitals, of which she is terrified since being medically experimented on as a child in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Momo agrees and promises, but Rosa is finally taken to the hospital after a particularly bad episode. Momo sneaks her out of the hospital at night and hides her in a basement storage room in her apartment building, where she feels safe. Momo stays there with Rosa, caring for her until she dies. Afterwards, Lola finally discovers their secret. The film ends with Rosa's funeral.
Cast
- Sophia Loren as Madame Rosa
- Ibrahim Gueye as Momo
- Abril Zamora as Lola
- Renato Carpentieri as Dr. Coen
- Babak Karimi as Hamil
- Massimiliano Rossi as drug dealer
Production
In July 2019, it was announced that Sophia Loren, Ibrahaim Gueye, Abril Zamora, Renato Carpentieri and Babak Karimi had joined the cast of the film, with Edoardo Ponti directing from a screenplay he wrote alongside Ugo Chiti, based upon the novel The Life Before Us by Romain Gary.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/sophia-loren-the-life-ahead-edoardo-ponti-1203263222/|title=Sophia Loren Returning to the Screen in 'The Life Ahead' (EXCLUSIVE)|website=Variety|first=Nick|last=Vivarelli|date=July 10, 2019|access-date=February 17, 2020}}
Principal photography began in July 2019 in Bari, Italy.{{cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/376259/|title=End of filming for Edoardo Ponti's The Life Ahead|website=Cineuropa|first=Camillo|last=De Marco|date=August 7, 2019|access-date=February 17, 2020}}
Release
In February 2020, Netflix acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-acquires-life-sophia-loren-1279629|title=Netflix Acquires 'The Life Ahead' With Sophia Loren|website=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Georg|last=Szalai|date=February 17, 2020|access-date=February 17, 2020}} It was released in a limited release on November 6, 2020, followed by digital streaming on Netflix on November 13, 2020.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/09/netflix-the-life-ahead-release-date-oscar-campaign-sophia-loren-1234581692/|title=Netflix Dates 'The Life Ahead' For November Worldwide Release; Film Legend Sophia Loren's First Movie In A Decade To Get Awards-Season Push|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Pete|last=Hammond|date=September 22, 2020|access-date=September 22, 2020}}{{cite web|url= https://deadline.com/video/the-life-ahead-review-sophia-loren-return-to-screen/|title='The Life Ahead' Review: Sophia Loren's Return To The Screen Is Nothing Less Than Triumphant|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Anthony|last=D’Alessandro|date=October 28, 2020|access-date=October 28, 2020}}
According to Deadline, The Life Ahead became a streaming hit, peaking within Netflix's top ten in 37 countries.{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/11/sophia-loren-life-ahead-netflix-top-ten-1234620218/#!|title = Sophia Loren's Return to Movies in 'The Life Ahead' Lands in Top 10 of All Netflix Offerings in First Week of Release in 37 Countries|date = 23 November 2020}}
Reception
=Critical response=
The Life Ahead holds {{a or an|{{RT data|score}}}} approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average of {{RT data|average}}. The site's critical consensus reads: "A classic example of how a talented actor can elevate somewhat standard material, The Life Ahead proves Sophia Loren's star power remains absolutely undimmed."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_life_ahead_2020|title=The Life Ahead (2020)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}} On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 66 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-life-ahead|title=The Life Ahead|website=Metacritic|access-date=December 14, 2020}}
In a three-starred review for The Observer, Mark Kermode said of Sophia Loren: "The 86-year-old star’s expressive performance as a former sex worker caring for an orphaned child is the main draw in this sometimes formulaic tale directed by her son."{{Cite news |last=Kermode |first=Mark |author-link= Mark Kermode|date=November 15, 2020 |title=The Life Ahead review – Sophia Loren's commanding comeback |url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/nov/15/the-life-ahead-review-sophia-loren-comeback|work=The Observer |access-date=November 21, 2020}} P.J. Grisar of The Forward was critical in his review, calling the film "treacly," "derivative," and "clichéd" when compared with the 1977 film Madame Rosa, its "nuanced and celebrated predecessor." He calls Loren's performance "sturdy" and Ponti’s direction "capable," but describes The Life Ahead as a "wan exercise, free of humor or verve."{{Cite news|author= Grisar, P. J.|title=Nice to have you back, Sophia Loren; sorry about the movie|url=https://forward.com/culture/458946/the-life-ahead-sophia-loren-romain-gary-holocaust-survivor-netflix/|date= 20 November 2020|access-date=23 November 2020|work=The Forward}}
=Accolades=
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|10627584}}
- {{Netflix title}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|m/the_life_ahead_2020}}
- {{Metacritic film}}
{{San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Romain Gary}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Life Ahead}}
Category:2020s Italian-language films
Category:Films based on French novels
Category:Films based on works by Romain Gary
Category:Italian remakes of French films