Italian TV gives us “The Bride” (“La Sposa”), a dramatic miniseries about a woman enduring many types of hardship for an emotionally intense quartet of hour-long episodes. It could be marginalized as a “chick flick” or soap opera without much of a sexy side but it turns out to be a fairly compelling character study of the eponymous bride, Maria (Serena Rossi), and the culture surrounding her in 1960 rural Italy.
Maria’s family was dirt poor, about to lose their humble home in a village in the southern region. Desperate to save her mother and two younger siblings from being homeless, she agrees to marry grumpy old farmer Vittorio (Maurizio Donadoni) from far to the north in exchange for his promise to clear their debts and send a monthly stipend to them. Then she learns Vittorio was only there as a proxy for his nephew, Italo (Giorgio Marchesi), who would be her ACTUAL hubby.
After a long drive, they arrive at the rundown farm to meet a husband who had no desire to marry anyone. He was still grieving deeply (and mostly drunkenly) over the disappearance of his wife. He was so distraught that he even ignored their young son, Paolino (Antonio Nicolai) so badly that he became almost feral from neglect by the two men. She also lands in a role of oppressive submission, accepting an inhumane workload in the house, fields and with their few animals. She toils though all of it capably and without complaint despite not receiving a whiff of kindness or appreciation. Vittorio and Italo treat her like a lowly servant no matter what she accomplishes for them.
The first positive development is when Paolino eventually responds positively to her. But the women of the village shun her because she came from the (disparaged) South, and by assuming the marriage was HER idea, despite the uncertainty of whether the first wife had died. The men resented her simply because of her gender.
Other characters from Maria’s past and present become key players in her ordeal with fully developed story arcs of their own. The microcosm of her situation expands with larger plot-lines about the declining economy for small farmers, new industries displacing the locals and making their traditional way of life obsolete, clashes between labor and ownership, along with other challenges for Maria and everyone around her. I can’t write more about the plot without getting into spoiler territory.
This all adds up to a slow-moving character study that works largely because of Rossi’s outstanding performance. Maria has many dimensions and Rossi is credible (or beyond) in all of them, without overplaying any. Character arcs of others seem realistic throughout all their hardships, losses and positives that unfold. Regular readers may notice that this genre is well outside of my usual range. At many points it seemed to drag, with a number of scenes that chafed because of what happened or what *didn’t* happen when it could/should have. But I’m glad I was alone while screening this, since it also succeeded in eliciting both sad and joyful eye-moistening moments during which I preferred not being observed.
There. You have my confession.
“The Bride,” in Italian with English subtitles, is available streaming starting Sept 5 on MHzChoice.
RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars
