Paola Cortellesi’s directorial debut There’s Still Tomorrow (C’è ancora domani) is something of a cinematic miracle. Its narrative setting and cinematic language are anchored in the 1940s, but connect to the present with undeniably contemporary touches, recounting a moment both historical and timeless.

Taking place in postwar Rome, the film immediately evokes Italian cinema of the 1940s and 50s, with black-and-white cinematography, period setting, and its narrative structure. It follows a lower-class family, mostly set within the family home and the shared common space of their apartment building. Delia, the family matriarch, is wife to the abusive Ivano, and mother of three kids, including teenage daughter Marcella. Living in a period of Rome slowly recovering from war, Delia works odd jobs – as an umbrella repairwoman, seamstress, injections nurse – to just make ends meet, and save a bit for herself.

Beyond the period setting and storytelling however, several stylistic choices bridge the gap from past to present. Made decades after the pioneering neorealist cinema, of course the picture and sound quality have a sharpness now available to contemporary filmmakers, which in itself gives a layer of neorealism even many of the classics didn’t have: capturing ambient sounds and crisp details that would not have made a final, often dubbed, soundtrack in the classical era.

The musical score also has contemporary elements, including electric guitars, drum sets, and sounds that would foil against the passionate, powerful strings of classical Italian cinema. The anachronism becomes even more startling with modern rock and even hip-hop songs underscoring pivotal moments. The images of period settings accompanied by the language of today’s music apply modern rallying cries and urgency into historical moments, bringing the distinct eras into conversation with one another.

This may all sound mismatched in writing, but the keystone holding everything together is Delia, played by the remarkable Paola Cortelesi, director, co-writer, and lead actress. Her tonal mastery behind the camera as director is equalled by her onscreen presence: like a modern-day Anna Magnani, at once funny, charming, self-degrading, while also tragic and defeated. Her charisma carries the entire film, and it’s not hard to see how everyone in her orbit, from family to friends to employers, is reliant on her.

As much as she’s needed though, Delia is looked down upon in nearly every facet of life, from the domestic to her roles as a working woman. She suffers injustices both structural and physical, as a lower-class woman, earning less than her male peers, and the victim of abuse at her husband’s hand.

In the face of everyday atrocity though, Delia, the everyday, common woman, remains resilient, not out of complacency but from survival and hope. The darkness of the film is balanced with the light, peppered with humor and a warm kinship Delia finds with other women, creating a story that’s heartfelt, entertaining, and political – all at once. The masterful editing gives the story a rhythm of ongoing momentum, yearning, and urgency. Even as Delia rushes through town and struggles in her role as mother and wife, every interaction and element adds up to create a rich, hopeful picture of Delia, and the world for women of this time. No matter how unjust today may be, a graceful undercurrent propels forward into a better future.

There’s Still Tomorrow was screened at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival and is being distributed by Greenwich Entertainment in spring 2025.