Riffing nimbly on Pasolini’s Arabian Nights, Mohsen Makhmalbaf startles and stuns with his Italian debut. Our protagonist is Claudia (Ylenia Galtieri), an unemployed single mother who gets caught in a maelstrom of whimsy and discontent as she searches for work in Southern Italy. Instead of chronicling her trials through the trappings that stories of the economically downtrodden usually employ, the Iranian master strives for something far more spectacular and unclassifiable: call it la dolce vita.

Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Cast: Ylenia Galtieri, Margherita Pantaleo, Raffaella Gallo, Paolo C. Santeramo, Danilo Acinapura

Runtime: 101 mins