Alba Rohrwacher: Finally the dawn | I Woman

TOlba Rohrwacher he is a luminous presence who is not afraid to enter the darkness, if the role requires it. She has a vibe all about her, which makes her one of the few Italian actresses with an important international careerand, because it reads in the universal language of emotions. Her path, on the threshold of 45, appears to be the result of very specific artistic choices, and she knows how to set the boundaries where they are needed, for example to defend her private life with her partner Saverio Costanzo, author of the series My Brilliant Friend in which Alba she will be Elena as an adult, and director of three of the films in which she starred: The solitude of prime numbers, Hungry Hearts and now Finally dawnjust released in theaters.

What is the heart of Finally dawnstory of Mimosa, a simple girl who ended up by chance on the set of Cinecittà in the 1950s and was involved in a “night out” through the Rome of Sweet life?
I think of Dante, of the incipit of Divine Comedy: «In the middle of the journey of our life / I found myself in a dark forest / because the straight path was lost. Alas, as to say what it was, it is a hard thing/this wild and harsh and strong forest/that renews fear in the thought!/It is so bitter that it is little more than death;/but to deal with the good that I found there/ I will tell you about the other things I saw there.” It is a film that tells the story of a girl’s journey to unexpected, real and spiritual places. I think of a dark fairy tale in which the hero has to face something very dangerous and in the end, discovering an inner strength that he didn’t know he possessed, passes the test. And “that accidental hero” will also be able to tell of the “good things I found there” at the end of the journey. That saving discovery, that awareness of the woman that Mimosa will become, are the heart of the film.

Is There’s still tomorrow That Finally dawn they tell the story of a woman’s exit from a difficult moment, and are set in eras that are close to each other.
In Paola Cortellesi’s film and in Saverio Costanzo’s, even if in a completely different way, the female figures reach a level of awareness. In a world of masks and power games, maintaining a clean heart, Mimosa will be able to look her fear in the face and walk alongside her.

She instead plays Alida Valli, in two different versions.
Here Valli is a symbol and within the same role there was a great excursion: at the beginning we see her as an actress while acting in a neorealist film, then as a cover diva, at the party where Mimosa happens to happen by chance. Like a character in a fairy tale, the girl meets good and bad masters, tempting devils and guardian angels along the way. And Alida will warn her of the danger.

Have you also found good and bad teachers along your path?
When I arrived in Rome I was very naive and had no familiarity with the world that later became my life, so I happened to be enlightened by some and very disappointed, and even scared, by others. At twenty I was truly a Martian who had arrived at the cinema, and perhaps sometimes I should have believed less in the words I was given. But my non-belonging, my being out of place and at the same time having a curious nature full of desire to learn was also my strength.

In your journey, were yes or no more useful?
The no’s that I had the courage to say were useful. And it wasn’t easy, but if I look back I don’t feel like a prisoner of anything I didn’t choose. I may have made bad decisions, but they were the right thing for me to do at the time.

Was it important to grow up in the Umbrian countryside, in relative isolation?
What seemed to me to be a great limitation – I was a young girl constantly struggling to do things that were normal for most of my peers – turned out to be a lifeline. We all have to deal with the past from which we come, if we are then able to look benevolently at what we are we realize that our strength lies precisely in the uniqueness of our roots.

In Rome he studied acting at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.
And for three years I was able to strengthen an artistic background which then helped me enter the world of work: it was a blessing to have that time of organisation, I can’t think of what would have happened if I had entered the world of cinema directly, with my character, my being a Martian and not doing much to be a little less so (laughs).

Today she is the artistic director of the acting course at the Center…
I accepted precisely because of the infinite gratitude I have towards that school, for the love towards the young actors who dedicate time to training, especially today when there is a huge market demand. And I wonder: without training, without a life jacket to fall back on if necessary, will they be able to resist? I have great admiration for kids who feel the need to give direction to the fire inside them, who choose a school and decide to take the time to become the actor they will be.

What do you look for in them?
The desire that drives them and animates them, a clarity of gaze, an ability to welcome and be welcomed. It’s difficult to cage this thing in a module but it’s very clear to me, I feel that when it’s there I can recognize it. Sometimes it is immediate, sparkling, sometimes it is more hidden, deeply sunk inside these kids, clouded by layers of fear: the school process serves to give them confidence and to make that precious gem that lies deep down flourish, and therefore c ‘It’s, it’s there, it’s alive.

What was the turning point in your artistic career?
I think about The solitude of prime numbers and the meeting with Saverio. It was an important point, both in my artistic and personal journey, and the two things came together. It was like recognizing each other. Starting from work. I remember the surprising feeling of unexpected belonging. And my life changed.Then the series followed In Treatment, Hungry Hearts, The brilliant friend and now, Finally dawn.

Has anything changed in the way you work together?
That hasn’t changed, I think. Saverio is a great director of actors who loves and knows how to lead into complex territories to reach: it is very nice to be in his gaze. In our work together there is the ease of understanding and the luck of an unfiltered comparison, there is honesty in creation.

He acted in almost all the films directed by his sister Alice. Is there a common language with you too?
Between me and her there is a grammelot of the soul, a profound belonging despite being two very different people. Arriving on the set of The wonders, the first film we shot together, was absurd: it was a place where I could have grown up, every object, every dress, every fabric made sense to me. Acting in Alice’s films is like entering something that belongs to me, like when you come back from a long trip. Making a film has to do with departure. Making a film with Alice has to do with coming home.

Even though he has given her the role of villain several times…
(Laughs) Yes, Alice has fun, she says: «They always make you be good, now I’ll take care of it!». We played with the grotesque in both The chimera than in the two courts De Djessshot for Miu Miu, and The pupils.

How do you move within international cinema?
For me it’s a joy to work abroad. On the one hand I feel that every time I leave Italy on my return I can give something more here. And then I like to work in a language that is not my own. Even when it’s a gamble. For example the film Hors-saison by Stéphane Brizé (also in competition in Venice and soon to be released in Italy, ed.) was a gift and at the same time a leap of faith because Stéphane works on improvisation and moving freely with French was more difficult. But this difficulty served to tell the truth of a character who has to deal with a language that is not hers, with feeling isolated and out of place. And in the end can I say it, I who never say it? I took a risk and I was glad I did. I was happy with myself, and it’s very difficult for me to say it.

Do you also often feel out of place?
Always, but in cinema I find a pacification, as if everything were putting itself back in order, and finally falling into the right place.

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