DUSE
Special Features: Special Presentation
With her career on life support and her savings decimated by the end of World War I, legendary Italian actress Eleonora Duse (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, LIKE CRAZY) is at a crossroads. Her overlooked daughter Enrichetta (Noémie Merlant, PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE) rushes to her side, concerned about her failing health. But Duse refuses to wither away and instead decides to make a triumphant return to the stage. Taking a verité approach, filmmaker Pietro Marcello (MARTIN EDEN) masterfully blends handheld camera work with archival footage, crafting a one-of-a-kind biopic in the process. Bruni Tedeschi embodies the indomitable star in a powerhouse performance that finds nuance in Duse’s evolution as art, politics and Italy itself all verge on modernization. –Josh Gardner
Official Selection, 2025 Venice, Toronto, London and New York film festivals. DIR/SCR Pietro Marcello; SCR Letizia Russo, Guido Silei; PROD Benedetta Cappon, Carlo Degli Esposti, Marco Grifoni, Nicola Serra. Italy/ France, 2025, color, 122 min. In Italian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
Run Time: 122 Minutes
Opening Date: Saturday, December 13, 2025
Genre: Biography, drama
