"It's all a big feast" with this joke, Paola Cortellesi has brought home six statuettes. A masterpiece that shone at the David di Donatello night.
I'm talking about "There's Still Tomorrow." A directing debut that hides an infinite wisdom in the choice and realization of its black and white film. In the frame of a historically recent past, which
It came to us from the tales of our grandparents
Paola tackles the very relevant issue of the role of women in society. We are in the very early post-war period, against the backdrop of Roman society and at the forefront the desire for social and economic redemption of the country. It is not an easy path for everyone, and alongside a few wealthy families, the vast majority of people must ration everything, including food, every day. There is a culture of recovery that limits waste. Nothing is thrown away in the kitchen. And if leftovers from meals like eggs or pasta are eaten at breakfast, in the evening, in the absence of food in the pantry, a soup of milk and bread is often resorted to.
Readers, at least those belonging to the generation of the 1950s will certainly remember this custom in our homes. It is part of the stories of many other films of neorealism as well. I remember the attitude of my grandparents, who even when they could put everything on their table, would still keep certain traditions.
An attitude towards food recycling or thriftiness
Traditions that still find their place in our kitchens today, partly to revive tradition and partly for fashion. For example, stale bread was never thrown away but always crumbled and turned to powder to make excellent homemade breadcrumbs or used for milk. The pasta with sauce, leftover from the meal, was mixed with some eggs the next day to prepare a pasta frittata. There were foods that in the past were delicacies reserved for the wealthy, like chocolate, which in the film is given to the protagonist by the American soldier. Even some large pasta shapes fell into this category of delicacies - because for most, only small pasta was distributed with the ration card - not to mention sugar and coffee.
The sugar and coffee were intended for the guests, used to welcome relatives, friends, and neighbors. In the film, the director also recounts the custom of condolence visits where everyone, including neighbors, would go to the grieving family's home to pay tribute to the deceased and show support. In those occasions, it was a must for the host to welcome them with a cup of coffee, filling many cups multiple times, to sustain the guests during the long hours of mourning. Paola Cortellesi tells this story with bitter irony, highlighting the rush to fulfill this social obligation on one hand, but also the opportunism of seizing this elitist treat for the palate. Perhaps it's a tradition more linked to the south, but in different forms, it is a fully-fledged Italian story.
The coffee was finishing quickly
It was a trickle, visit after visit. Delia, the protagonist of the film, tries to use little powder and scrape the bottom of the jar, mortified for not being a good housekeeper, but also annoyed by that miserable scavenging that would later deprive her family and challenge her finances in managing expenses.
I am reminded of the typical Neapolitan habit of consolation (or consolo). In the past, in Naples, it was common to bring sugar and coffee to the mourning family as a form of consolation, as a demonstration of affection and sweetness, but also as economic support for the family in such an extraordinary time of expense. Years after the post-war period, in the late 80s, I was already grown up, but I still remember the visit to an aunt's house who had the habit, or as we say in my area, the "good manners," of honoring my grandmother with a package of coffee, sugar, and chocolate. Not toys for us girls, or wine, or flowers, but those 3 useful and comforting products. Our social and dietary habits have roots that go back to distant times. Thanks to this wonderful film, which I recommend to everyone, we can recover part of our history. And perhaps find some answers.
