The First Beautiful Thing

Summer, 1971. The youthful and stunning Anna Nigiotti is dubbed Miss Mamma of Livorno's most famous bath house, but doesn’t realize how the unwelcome attention of the male population has raised her husband Mario’s suspicions and embarrassed her son Bruno. Today. Ever the heartthrob - despite her terminal illness - Anna blows the doctors away with her irresistible and contagious verve. Bruno however has burned all bridges with his hometown, his family and his past. A passionless teacher in a trade school, he leads an obstinately disengaged life. When his younger sister Valeria persuades him to return home to see his mother for the last time, Bruno reluctantly returns to Livorno, to visit his still vibrant and beautiful mother, who seems to defy all medical odds. That meeting, after years of hostility, forces Bruno to come to terms with the tumultuous past he’s tried so hard to forget. Thrown out of the house by their jealous father years ago, yet pressed on by their mother's buoyant, dogged optimism, Bruno vividly recalls the days and nights he and his younger sister spent wandering around with Anna in search of a place to stay. There was also Aunt Leda, who at every turn maliciously maneuvered to usurp her much talked-about sister's husband and children A family drama set against the narrow-mindedness of a provincial Italy that craves new desires, embodied in the indolent, fickle men who'd like to take advantage of Anna's sensual charm and candor, but ultimately lack the courage and the strength. After the eleventh-hour discovery of an unknown brother, a surprise wedding and separation, our trio's adventures lead to an unexpected reconciliation and a final life lesson, from an unconventional and unique mother about keeping the faith and embracing the little joys that life holds in store.