Irene Dionisio’s Idda is a rich, sensory and ultimately emotionally shattering experience.
Set in Sicily, Adele (Tecla Insolia), known as Ita to her friend Sofia (Romana Maggiora Vergano), is living in a messy apartment awaiting the arrival of her estranged friend so they can finally achieve their childhood dream of climbing to the summit of Mount Etna, an active East coast volcano known as Idda (Sicilian for “her”), where it’s rumored that if you if you are in the right place you can hear her breathing.
Both women dreamed of leaving their native land and going to Berlin. But only Sofia actually left their hometown.
Before the trek, at a religious procession the gals meet Florian (Matt Galey) a cute young visitor working on a documentary and it becomes clear that past resentments are beginning to bubble between the two besties.
As they embark on their Etna climb, Ita and Sofia elicit the help of Salvatore (sexy Giuseppe De Domenico) who Sofia refers to as “the mountain man.” “If you reach the summit, you can see the volcano’s soul. And understand something about this life,” Salvatore offers.
It’s obvious that Ida has a crush on him, so Sofia takes it upon herself to manipulate a threesome which doesn’t quite end as expected. Suffice to say navigating the climb is less intense than navigating the relationship between the two besties and the heartbreak that lies at the core of their relationship.
The more free-spirited and chance-taking Sofia is sometimes at odds with the cautious and tentative Ita, but as the film unfolds, one can sense something strange brewing—a mystery begins to take shape, one that will upend the narrative and leave the audience stunned.
The beguiling and dangerous landscape of Etna, a volcano that’s been erupting quite a bit lately causing flight delays and area mayhem, mirrors the intense and turbulent relationship between Ita and Sofia and their eventual outbursts of rancor and frustration.
Both Insolia and Vergano are fantastic and as mesmerizing as Gergely Pohárnok’s amazing cinematography.
Dionisio along with fellow screenwriter Marco Borromei has done an excellent job, allowing just enough clues to the unfolding story to allow the viewer piece it all together.
Idda is world premiering at TIFF.
In Italian and Sicilian, with English subtitles
