Sole (2019) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A pregnant woman's financial arrangement to surrender her child gradually becomes an emotionally and institutionally constructed family.

Story Structure — 5 Plot Phases

A Transaction Before Birth

Lena arrives in Italy pregnant and is taken into Fabio and Bianca's home. The adults establish a money-based arrangement tied to medical approval and future foster care.

Key Events

• Lena Arrives Pregnant — Lena arrives in Italy while seven months pregnant. Characters: Lena Location: Italy
• Taken to Fabio's Home — Lena is brought to the home of the intended adoptive couple. Characters: Lena, Fabio, Bianca Location: Fabio and Bianca's home
• Payment Conditions Explained — Fabio links Lena's payment to satisfactory medical tests. Characters: Lena, Fabio Location: Fabio and Bianca's home
• Illegal Foster Plan — The adults establish a relative-based foster arrangement for the baby. Characters: Lena, Fabio, Bianca, Ermanno Location: Fabio and Bianca's home
• First Medical Examination — The Obstetrician confirms that the pregnancy is progressing well. Characters: Lena, Obstetrician, Fabio Location: Medical clinic

Proof of a Healthy Child

Medical examinations confirm that the pregnancy is progressing well and that the baby is a girl. Genetic testing shows no abnormalities, strengthening the planned transaction.

Key Events

• First Medical Examination — The Obstetrician confirms that the pregnancy is progressing well. Characters: Lena, Obstetrician, Fabio Location: Medical clinic
• The Baby Is a Girl — The examination reveals that the unborn baby is a girl. Characters: Lena, Obstetrician, Fabio Location: Medical clinic
• Genetic Testing Arranged — Further genetic testing is arranged to assess the pregnancy. Characters: Lena, Obstetrician, Fabio Location: Medical clinic
• Normal Test Results — The results show no abnormalities in the unborn child. Characters: Lena, Obstetrician, Fabio Location: Medical clinic
• Growing Isolation — Lena needs clothes and money and increasingly feels isolated. Characters: Lena, Fabio, Bianca Location: Fabio and Bianca's home

Isolation and Public Judgment

Lena becomes increasingly dependent, while Fabio objects to her movements and spending. Payment disputes, a casino visit, and Giordano's insult expose the social and emotional cost of the arrangement.

Key Events

• Growing Isolation — Lena needs clothes and money and increasingly feels isolated. Characters: Lena, Fabio, Bianca Location: Fabio and Bianca's home
• Arguments Over Spending — Fabio becomes angry when Lena goes out or spends money. Characters: Lena, Fabio Location: Fabio and Bianca's home
• Payment Negotiation — Ermanno discusses the payment he expects for acknowledging the child. Characters: Lena, Ermanno Location: Fabio and Bianca's home
• Casino Excursion — Ermanno takes Lena to a casino while the arrangement continues. Characters: Lena, Ermanno Location: Casino
• Insult at the Party — Giordano insults Lena for supposedly selling her baby. Characters: Lena, Ermanno, Giordano Location: Party
• Lena Considers Germany — Lena considers leaving Italy for Germany after receiving her money. Characters: Lena Location: Fabio and Bianca's home

The Fragile Premature Birth

Lena enters labor early, and the baby is placed in intensive care because of a respiratory problem. The child's improvement and the demand for breastfeeding complicate the purely financial arrangement.

Key Events

• Premature Labor — Lena goes into labor several weeks before the expected date. Characters: Lena, Ermanno, Fabio, Bianca Location: Hospital
• Baby Enters Intensive Care — The premature baby develops a respiratory problem and enters intensive care. Characters: Lena, Fabio, Obstetrician Location: Hospital intensive care unit
• Breastfeeding Encouraged — Medical staff report improvement and encourage Lena to breastfeed. Characters: Lena, Fabio, Obstetrician Location: Hospital
• More Money Demanded — Lena demands more money after the premature birth and temporarily gives up her passport. Characters: Lena, Fabio, Bianca Location: Fabio and Bianca's home

A Family Constructed After Disappearance

Lena struggles with infant care and then disappears after further conflict with Fabio. Fabio and Bianca present a rehearsed account to Social Services and complete their foster request.

Key Events

• Struggle with Infant Care — Lena struggles to feed and care for the baby as Fabio and Bianca intervene. Characters: Lena, Fabio, Bianca Location: Fabio and Bianca's home
• Lena Disappears — Fabio offers money and briefly promises to care for both before Lena disappears. Characters: Lena, Fabio, Bianca Location: Fabio and Bianca's home
• Fabio Reports Abandonment — Fabio tells Social Services that Lena abandoned the child. Characters: Fabio Location: Social Services
• Foster Story Rehearsed — Fabio and Bianca rehearse a convincing account of their life together. Characters: Fabio, Bianca Location: Fabio and Bianca's home
• Foster Arrangement Approved — They approve the request to foster the child, completing the arrangement. Characters: Fabio, Bianca Location: Social Services

Story Breakdown

• Arrival and Dependence — Lena enters Italy and becomes dependent on the household organizing the transaction.
  • Pregnant Arrival — Lena arrives in Italy while seven months pregnant.
  • Household Control — Fabio and Bianca take Lena into their home and define the conditions of payment.
• The Foster Scheme — Fabio, Bianca, and Ermanno prepare a relative-based arrangement to secure the baby.
  • Infertile Couple — Fabio and Bianca seek a child because they cannot have children.
  • False Recognition — Ermanno is involved in acknowledging the child for payment.
• Medical Validation — Medical examinations turn the pregnancy into an evaluated condition within the deal.
  • Healthy Pregnancy — The Obstetrician confirms that the pregnancy is progressing well.
  • Normal Testing — Further genetic testing shows no abnormalities.
• Isolation and Conflict — Lena's dependence deepens as money, movement, and public judgment create pressure.
  • Spending Arguments — Fabio becomes angry when Lena goes out or spends money.
  • Party Humiliation — Giordano insults Lena for supposedly selling her baby.
• Premature Crisis — Early labor and the baby's medical complications challenge the planned transaction.
  • Early Labor — Lena gives birth several weeks before the expected date.
  • Intensive Care — The baby develops a respiratory problem and is placed in intensive care.
• Maternal Reversal — The birth creates practical and emotional consequences that alter the household balance.
  • Breastfeeding Request — Medical staff encourage Lena to breastfeed as the baby improves.
  • More Money — Lena demands additional payment because the premature birth was not her fault.
• Disappearance and Control — Lena's departure allows Fabio and Bianca to reshape the story through social institutions.
  • Lena Leaves — Lena disappears after struggling with feeding and infant care.
  • Abandonment Claim — Fabio tells Social Services that Lena abandoned the child.
• Manufactured Family — Fabio and Bianca complete the arrangement by presenting a convincing shared family history.
  • Rehearsed Story — Bianca helps Fabio rehearse an account of their life together.
  • Foster Approval — Their request to foster the child is approved.

Directed by

Carlo Sironi

Key Cast

• Sandra Drzymalska — Lena
• Claudio Segaluscio — Ermanno
• Bruno Buzzi — Fabio
• Barbara Ronchi — Bianca
• Vitaliano Trevisan — Obstetrician