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The Mother of tears
film research file

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Cinematographer Fasano, Frederic
Executive Producer D'Amico, Kirk
Executive Producer Marletta, Giulia
Film Editor Fasano, Walter
Music Simonetti, Claudio
Producer Argento, Claudio
Producer Argento, Dario
Production Design Bocca, Francesca
Production Design Ferroni, Valentina
Screenwriter Anderson, Jace
Screenwriter Argento, Dario
Screenwriter Gierasch, Adam
Sound Cappannelli, Roberto
Production Company Medusa
Production Company Opera Films
Distributor Myriad Pictures
Principal Cast Argento, Asia
Principal Cast Cataldi-Tassoni, Coralina
Principal Cast Kier, Udo
Principal Cast Nicolodi, Daria
DESCRIPTION
TIFF NOTE
A screeching monkey chases damsel in distress Asia Argento. Crazed supermodel witches perform the dance of death in a cursed mansion. Exorcist Udo Kier is overwhelmed by an outbreak of madness. And of course. there is blood. Welcome to one of the most highly anticipated events in horror fandom - The Mother of Tears, Dario Argento's finale to The Three Mothers trilogy that started with Suspiria and Inferno. An urn discovered in a grave is turned over to the Rome museum, where Sarah Mandy (Asia Argento) is studying art restoration. And so is the dark cabbalistic prophecy of the Second Age of Witches set into motion. With the seal of the urn broken, the powers of Mater Lachrymarum, the Mother of Tears, the cruellest and most beautiful of the fabled witches known as the Three Mothers - are restored. Soon, Sarah's colleague (Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni from Opera) meets a gory death at the hands of demons unleashed from the urn, and havoc explodes in the streets of Rome as a wave of suicide and violent crime heralds the dark priestess's rebirth. Pursued by the witches who descend upon the city to pay homage to their queen, Sarah is aided by the ghost of her mother (Daria Nicolodi, Asia's actual mother), a white witch. As Rome burns, the key to breaking the supernatural chaos presents itself in the form of a powerful book. A testament to Argento's heritage of horror, The Mother of Tears reunites many of his past collaborators including, obviously, his actress daughter and her mother Nicolodi, special-effects illusionist Sergio Stivaletti and maestro Claudio Simonetti from the Italian prog- rock band Goblin. References to the previous instalments circle through the richly atmospheric plot, complete with bizarre turns of nightmare logic and sexual frenzy. After the film finished shooting, internet gossip suggested that the director had to trim the gore, but rest assured, the grue is thick and plentiful. After all, an Argento film devoid of grisly baroque set pieces would be like a pizza without toppings. The Mother of Tears is further proof that Argento is an alchemist who doesn't hesitate to throw the audience into his surreal, phantasmagorical world.
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