The first Italian-language feature from prolific Catalan filmmaker Isabel Coixet, Three Goodbyes is an emotional, ultimately life-affirming adaptation of Michela Murgia’s celebrated 2023 semi-autobiographical novel, published shortly before her death.

Anchored by a commanding central performance from Alba Rohrwacher, it charts the efforts of a high-school teacher in Rome to navigate a series of potentially life-altering challenges.

When her long-term partner, Antonio (Elio Germano), announces unexpectedly that he is leaving her, Marta (Rohrwacher) is immediately overwhelmed, both emotionally and physically. Her interfering yet well-meaning younger sister Elisa (Silvia D’Amico) insists that Marta see a gastroenterologist, and the subsequent diagnosis deals her a devastating blow.

Read my full South China Morning Post review here