In the cycle of life, there is seemingly no end. No end to the joy. No end to the suffering. Just a succession of personal moments, milestones, and emotions to be experienced along the way. In his poignant and tender feature film debut, Italian director Roberto Cuzzillo brings a uniquely subtle sensibility to those moments that matter most.

As the next step in their loving relationship, Giulia (Cristina Serafini) and Chiara (Irene Ivaldi) have decided to have a child together. But, according to Italian law, only married heterosexual couples are legally allowed to procreate through artificial insemination, so the two women must travel to Holland for the procedure. As they eagerly await the doctor’s call that will set the wheels in motion, Giulia shares the news with her mother, who is anguished by the thought of her grandchild being raised without a father. Chiara, meanwhile, discovers a lump in her breast and is suddenly forced to consider the possibilities of sickness and death rather than new life and birth. Yet she is afraid to tell Giulia about her diagnosis, setting their relationship off-kilter.

It is this sense of asymmetry that pervades the film’s very look and feel, from its visual richness to its beautifully evocative score and potent use of both sound and silence. Only in a film where a woman smokes a cigarette while shaving her armpits can uncertainty, enlightenment, love and fear commingle so eloquently.