Girlfriend in a Coma

Summary: It has shaken conventional media, has had its Italian premiere banned amid huge controversy, has provoked anger and tears among 2 million Italian viewers, has been discussed in more than 50 independently organized debates around the world, and has opened the public’s eyes to the full nature of Italy’s political, economic, and moral malaise. Directed by Italian filmmaker Annalisa Piras and narrated by former Economist chief editor Bill Emmott, the ailments of Italy are laid bare in Girlfriend in a Coma with clarity, creativity, and even humor. Those ailments—of corruption, political dysfunction, economic stagnation, declining rule of law, and, above all, a failure of moral courage—are ailments shared increasingly by all Western countries. Girlfriend in a Coma acts as a warning and a wake-up call for all of us. The film has been updated to take into account the criminal conviction in 2013 of its three-time prime minister Silvio “Bunga-Bunga” Berlusconi for tax fraud, and of the changes in Rome both of prime ministers and popes. As recent events have shown, the waves from Italy’s political struggles are being felt all over Europe, and those of Europe all over the world.