Volcano as woman, women as volcanoes. This simile describes the driving force behind Idda, Italian director Irene Dionisio’s deeply affecting memory film about a symbiotic and turbulent friendship. Lifelong buddies who haven’t seen each other in years, Adele and Sofia finally reunite to fulfill a childhood goal: climbing to the peak of Mt. Etna, one of Europe’s tallest active volcanoes. The adventure will rekindle their friendship, but also push it beyond its limits.
“Idda” is the Sicilian word for “she,” and it is also what the locals call Mt. Etna. Dionisio brilliantly conflates the monumental physicality of the story’s natural backdrop and the intimate nature of the personal drama. In the very first scene, ominous shots of the smoke- and fog-enshrouded mountain are accompanied by a rumbling soundtrack with haunting music and the rush of wind that sounds uncannily like human breathing. Cut to a close-up of a woman sleeping in her bed, rustling fitfully as if having a troubled dream. The mountain and the woman each seem ready to erupt.
If this sounds too on-the-nose and the central metaphor too schematic, don’t worry — Idda feels completely organic and spontaneous, thanks to the vitality and charisma of its central performances. Their chemistry is perfect and can even be called magnetic, as Adele and Sofia simultaneously attract and repel each other throughout their journey. Tecla Insolia, one of Italy’s top young actresses — who most recently gave an electrifying star performance as a rebellious nun in Italy’s 2025 miniseries The Art of Joy — is Idda’s key protagonist, Adele (nicknamed Ita). Insolia’s strong, strikingly beautiful profile, accented by her aquiline nose, makes her look almost statuesque; she conveys intensity even in her stillness. Romana Maggiora Vergano is the more free-spirited and spontaneous Sofia, an uninhibited dance instructor who always needs to be in motion. It was Sofia’s wanderlust, sending her on adventures around the world while Adele stayed at home to establish herself as an artist, which led to their split. When they finally reunite for their long-awaited adventure, their planned early-morning departure is delayed after they meet a documentary filmmaker and, sparked by Sofia’s whims, spend a drunken night with him on the beach.
Echoing the volcano’s seismic activity, the reunion veers between joy and sudden bursts of anger, as old resentments and jealousies emerge. A sexual component to the friendship is gradually revealed, and Sofia’s impulsiveness leads to a startling erotic encounter that sends the film towards its mysterious, surprising conclusion. After a decisive rupture, the film retreats into Adele’s mind, a realm of dreams and memory. What draws Adele and Sofia together, then, is exactly what will ultimately push them apart, leading to a palpable sense of regret that Adele must overcome. The understanding that this intense relationship is at once ephemeral and eternal is what gives this tender and beautiful film its emotional weight.
It comes as no surprise that Idda was inspired by Dionisio’s memories of her best friend, who died young. That she was able to cast two actresses who feel so deeply connected is impressive, as is the filmmaking collaboration that brings Dionisio’s vision to screen in such palpable form. The highly expressive soundtrack, crafted by composers Matteo Marini, Gabriele Concas, and Peter Miyakawa, seamlessly weaves recorded natural sounds with music that becomes more ethereal and wistfully romantic as the film progresses, building to a mesmerizing song that will remain fixed in the viewer’s memory. And all of this is punctuated by Gergely Poharnok’s vivid and sensuous cinematography, which is at once awe-inspiring and human-scaled, rendering the mountain, and the actresses’ expressive faces, into memorable landscapes.
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