Days and Clouds (2007) — Italy

Most of the days in this domestic drama are cloudy indeed. Elsa has just finished her art history degree as her mid-life project. Her husband Michele threw her a party, then afterwards broke the news that, in fact, he hadn't worked in two months because he was fired. All the feathers hit the fan. They must sell their house and boat, take jobs far beneath their station in life, battle emotions of fear and (for Michele) self-hatred, negotiate issues of friends and family, and decide whether to choose fight or flight. Days and Clouds won fifteen awards in the Italian equivalent of the Oscars, but I thought it dragged along rather predictably for too long (115 minutes) and then concluded rather blandly. Still, even though the story is cliched, it's certainly not a cliche for people who experience what they do, and in this sense the film delivers deep emotions. In Italian with English sub-titles.