Maria

Maria, an elderly woman, is dying in her bed. But she is not alone. Around her sit other women watching carefully over her last breath, trying to provide her with whatever she might need. They help her lift from the bed or adjust the pillow under her head. The women talk to each other, recalling stories from Maria’s life. Some are funny, some are not. They make us understand how Maria has touched the lives of most of the people that are sitting around her in her very last hours. The director fits carefully in the frame trying to capture the last images on his mobile phone of a woman he loved. This cautiously sought balance between the act of filming while participating in an archaic ritual which is a heartfelt farewell as well, is what makes the intimacy of the film’s texture. There is the attempt to be there and at the same time to participate in this collective prayer with the tools and craft of filmmaking. While all this is going on, life as well continues as some of the ladies start to giggle or simply have to leave and go home. Maria is a testimony to life’s most enduring strengths. Giona A. Nazzaro