Duse

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi is magnificent as the theatrical diva Duse in a poignant, melancholic, and dazzlingly beautiful cinematic portrait of a passionate artist and her era.

Pietro Marcello, who won the Bergman Competition at GFF with Lost and Beautiful in 2016, returns with a breathtakingly gorgeous and defiantly idiosyncratic period drama set in the early 1900s. Eleonora Duse, one of the greatest actors of her time and a national Italian icon, tries to return to the stage despite failing health, driven by her unwavering belief in the power of art – while fascism is on the rise under Mussolini. Dramatic fiction and archival material are woven together in a bold biopic that deservedly earned Bruni Tedeschi the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival.

• Johan Blomqvist