Carolina Cavalli’s Amanda opens on a poolside image of privilege. Only, it’s not adults lounging in and around the pool, but two young girls – Amanda and her sister, Marina. The one lounges on the poolside, while the other is in the pool snacking. The quirky vibe that lies beneath the surface reveals the strong personality of Cavalli’s creative vision that will be unleashed.

From the sun-soaked poolside we jump forward to find Amanda (Benedetta Porcaroli) has grown up. Twenty-five and friendless her mother instructs Judy (Ana Cecilia Ponce), the housekeeper to stop hanging out with Amanda, in an effort to force her daughter to make friends her own age. Amanda, however, makes every request or concern appear unreasonable, and the exhausted frustration of her mother and Marina (Margherita Maccapani Missoni) is clear. While Amanda’s mother remains passive, the two sisters frequently verbally duel.

Amanda has a close bond with her niece Stella (Amelia Elisabetta Biuso), who appears to be progressing in ways that her older aunt isn’t. On the look out for a best friend, Amanda finds a possible candidate – her mother’s best friend’s daughter, Rebecca (Galatéa Bellugi), who has exiled herself to her room for some time.

Cavalli invites us into Amanda’s idiosyncratic world. Some audiences will undoubtedly find it too idiosyncratic for their tastes, while some will be willing to embrace Amanda’s quirky persona and find humour in her slightly surreal and absurd world view. Then there are the others that may see themselves in the film’s protagonist. In one scene she says she knows what it’s like to feel alone in a room full of people. Amanda is a character that walks to the beat of her own idiosyncratic drum, speaking and acting with irreverence. Amanda is an outsider, perhaps by choosing to reject the path laid out by her family of pharmacists, but her independent words, thoughts and actions, are what many in the audience who identify as outsiders or pariahs in society would like to appropriate.

Of course, Amanda isn’t independent – she’s reliant on her family. Cavalli’s film may share subtle connections with films about characters confronting the system like Miloš Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), or even have the spirit of prison escape films. Only in Amanda, life is the prison and not the concrete walls or steel bars. Behind the idiosyncrasy, absurdity and surrealism, Cavalli may be reflecting on the fact that we’re all confronting a lack of freedom, and the inherent struggle to negotiate terms we find acceptable. Although, unlike other characters in the film, Amanda pushes back against acceptance or the adage “ignorance is bliss”, which in a sense draws comparisons to Lily and Lana Wachowski’s The Matrix (1999).

Outside of Amanda’s scenes with Judy, the surrogate mother figure, some of the film’s strongest moments are shared by Amanda and Stella – especially the references to an eight-year-old friend and Stella’s affection for Jesus. Their exchanges are filled with an absurd, almost silly wit, that frames Amanda as an inappropriate adult, who delights us nonetheless. Sadly, there are too few scenes between the pair, as the inappropriate aunt must undertake her quest to find a friend her own age.

As the story evolves and enters its second act with Amanda and Rebecca’s friendship, the film reaches a precarious moment because it needs to grow. Under Cavalli’s assured hand, the earlier spirit of the film remains, but Amanda’s life is no longer risk-free. She is still that idiosyncratic character, but Cavalli forces her to confront her vulnerability, and turns the film into a coming of age comedy.

Carolina Cavalli’s debut feature is deceptive in that every scene feels effortless, and yet, with a critical eye, we can see the attention to detail in how the cinematography, performances and dialogue all communicate the film’s specific tone and intent. The director’s willingness and ability to create this illusion, singles out her first film as quietly impressive.

Amanda shows online for free throughout the entire month of December as part of ArteKino 2024.

Just click here in order to watch it now.