Girlfriend in a Coma
A cautionary tale for the West from Italy, a country once so crucial in defining western civilisation, and whose travails now raise fundamental and universal issues for civic education
Filmmaker Annalisa Piras and former Economist Editor Bill Emmott explore the malaise of Italy over the past 20 years, as the rule of law, democracy, the economy, the justice system and simple morality all entered a steep decline from which the country has yet to recover. Inspired by the poetry and insights of Dante Alighieri, their quest to understand today's Italy includes interviews with current prime minister Matteo Renzi, former prime minister Mario Monti, philosopher and novelist Umberto Eco, film director Nanni Moretti, gender equality activist Lorella Zanardo, FIAT's outspoken Canadian-Italian CEO Sergio Marchionne, the author of "Gomorrah" Roberto Saviano and many others. Can Italy wake up from its coma? Is it a foretaste of today's troubles in Europe, and tomorrow's elsewhere in the West?
