The Lesson offers us, even more on the day of the Feast of Women, the opportunity to reflect on a dangerous phenomenon, often underestimated and unfortunately still very frequent: psychological abuse, stalking.
But the film goes beyond this, showing how awareness and courage can transform vulnerability into force. In this regard, Laura Mirabella of Vision Distribution, during the press conference of presentation of the film in Rome, stressed that the film not only tells violence, but the path of awareness and action. “It is important to show young women that there is a chance to react, to reaffirm their role and their abilities.” The heart of the film is indeed the empowerment of the protagonist: “We see her as a story of female empowerment. This woman so independent and strong, as everyone, has its fragility and can fall into the trap of a manipulator. But he reacts, he wants to find his truth and does everything himself». He added.
The director Stefano Mordini explained how the film was born from the novel by Marco Franzoso and the invitation of producer Roberto Sessa: «The book faced stalking, emotional abuse and manipulation in the right way. The challenge was to bring it to the cinema, to find a visual and narrative synthesis that respects this complexity”.
For Mordini, the film is a precision work on every detail: the location of the city, the choice of the Carso houses above Trieste, the wind as an element of disturbance, even the sound. “Every signal, even small, becomes a clue, a call. Everything contributes to telling the inner tension of the protagonist and his ability to face it”.
The director also studied the stalker’s mechanisms, starting with the Finch (2001) model, where the abuser’s satisfaction culminates in the victim’s recognition. “The stalker hides, but his final goal is to be recognized. It is a power game that the protagonist must learn to decode,” Mordini explained.
Mirabella then returned on how powerful the film’s message is: the protagonist does not remain a prisoner of fear or doubt, but decides to take his life into his hands. “We have not yet come where we should arrive, but the film shows that women can find resources to deal with complex situations, reaffirming courage and self-determination.”.
Thanks to the power of interpreters Matilda De Angelis and Stefano Accorsi, the film manages to build tension without resorting to explicit violence, focusing on psychology and the resilience of the protagonist. “Building tension without causing anything to happen is not simple – says Mirabella – but the film does so with great effectiveness”.
Exit in the vicinity of March 8, La Lezione becomes an opportunity to reflect not only on the invisible violence that many women suffer, but above all on the force necessary to react and reaffirm themselves. An invitation to recognize female courage in all its forms.
L’articolo Women’s Day, courage and empowerment in the film La Lezione proviene da IlNewyorkese.
