Atto di dolore

"Atte di Dolore" was translated into French -it's a co-production ,starring French actors such as Bruno Cremer - as "acte d'amour " ,which the ending is ,in a very cruel way.One can prefer the Italian title though,because the French one is a capitulation, leaving absolutely no hope to the viewer,in spite of the word "love" .It can be justified because ,though fictionalized ,the screenplay is based on a true story.

Sometimes considered "over the top" by some critics , "atto di dolore" is a ruthless descent into hell of a young man Sandro ,addicted to heroin;Claudia Cardinale portrays the mater dolorosa who gets out of her way to save her doomed son;she loses everything :her lover leaves her, her daughter takes refuge in a friend's place to be able to study.Everything the distraught mom does backfires against her: the more she gives money to him,the more he demands ;more and more agressive he robs her and beats her.

Not for squeamish!