Odetta Ciancarelli describes herself not as a ‘débutante film-maker’ but as a ‘dilettante’. This dilettantism should however be seen in the most positive possible sense of the word: Ciancarelli is a young film-maker with a passion for cinema and above all with a love for the town and the people in her film. Ciancarelli shot La Murciaiola with a very small budget with the aid of friends and relatives in the small town of Murci in the hills of Tuscany. Murci is an historic town where people live by ancient traditions. Girls still marry the boys their parents chose for them at birth. In the film, the town is startled by the announcement that a stranger is on his way. It is the Dutchman Johan who has decided to grow tulips in Murci. Protagonist Serena, who celebrates her 21st birthday at the start of the film, expects the return home of her fiancé Rossano, a marine. Her pending wedding was arranged 21 years earlier by their parents. Serena looks as if she is going to resist the course of events. In her attempts to escape her fate, she is helped by her best friend Mafalda. The film has its own gentle rhythm that suits the tempo of the town. The power of the film is in the relaxed feel of the amateur actors and the wonderful locations. Murci is like a dream of Arcadia.
