(CNN) There's one clear reason to watch "The Life Ahead," but for those who appreciate cinematic history, it's a good one: Sophia Loren, still striking at 86, starring in this Italian-language film directed by her son, Edoardo Ponti. Ponti and writer Ugo Chiti adapted the movie from Romain Gary's novel "The Life Before Us," which was previously made into the 1977 film "Madame Rosa." Selling drugs for a local dealer, he desperately needs a few positive influences in his life, however much he might resist them. There's really not a whole lot more to it than that, and the boy -- who delivers a wonderfully natural performance -- serves as the focal point of the story, which he narrates. Yet it's Loren who commands the screen, as Rosa snaps at him at first, before falling into spells that suggest failing health and the painful memories of the ordeal she experienced in her youth.

Source: CNN November 13, 2020 15:22 UTC