A strong desire to surprise (and to criticise obedient politicians)

“On an issue as glowing and passionate as that of Englaro, Bellocchio has made a film that strives to reason. This is the first evident quality of Bella Addormentata, where the last days of Eluana’s life serve as the backdrop for a series of intertwining stories: the Senator of Forza Italy who doesn’t want to vote for the forced-feeding law, the extremist Catholic daughter who prays in Udine in front of the clinic La Quiete, the actress with a daughter in a coma who hopes for a miracle to awaken her, the addict who wants to commit suicide and the doctor who wants to save her. All stories that remind the viewer about the relationship between life and death from a particular point of view. Despite the different performances (Servillo the Senator is perfect and his duet with Herlitzka is anthological), the winning idea of Bellocchio—and his screenwriters Stefano Rulli and Veronica Raimo—attempts to crumble ideological contrasts in order to imbue each character with a bit of ”right” and “wrong.”

In this way, the viewer finds on the screen not a confrontation, but rather the many pieces of a mosaic that needs to be rebuilt. […]”