The First Beautiful Thing (2010)

Cast: Valerio Mastandrea, Micaela Ramazzotti, Stefania Sandrelli, Claudia Pandolfi

Director: Paolo Virzì

Rating: NR

Running Time: 111 min.

Synopsis: A grown man discovers the tragic truth about the mother he once shunned in this poignant family drama from director Paolo Virzì (Caterina in the Big City, A Whole Life Ahead). In the early 1970s, single mother Anna lived in a provincial Italian town with her two small children. A divorced woman with no career prospects, she struggles to remain optimistic for her children while doing everything within her power to provide for them. Rejected by her embittered son, she soldiers on bravely, and attempts to teach both the boy and his sister to appreciate life's little pleasures. Decades later, Anna's children are all grown up, and she receives a devastating diagnosis. Lying on her death bed, she is elated when they both return to say their final farewells. It's only then that Anna is able to reveal the truth about her turbulent past, and her children learn to appreciate the incredible sacrifices she made for them in the name of love.