The Life Ahead Parent Guide

Although he left his native Senegal as an infant and has lived in Italy ever since, Momo (Ibrahima Gueye) has never quite managed to fit in. Things have deteriorated since the death of his mother, and Momo is now selling drugs purse-snatching to keep himself busy. This time, however, he has robbed the wrong woman - the intimidating Madame Rosa (Sophia Loren). Unfortunately for Momo, his social worker happens to be Madame Rosa’s doctor and recognizes the stolen goods, making an accounting (and an apology) inevitable. As the relationship between Madam Rosa and Momo develops, they find that they are not as different as they once thought – but life isn’t getting any easier for either of them.

If you’re like me, you hear the words “foreign drama” and imagine some well nigh interminable multi-hour dirge of European existentialism and probably nudity. Miraculously, this isn’t that. Clocking in at a modest 94 minutes, The Life Ahead knows the story it wants to tell and focuses clearly on it. Equally surprising is that the story itself is heartwarming without feeling clichéd or sentimental. Both Momo and Madame Rosa learn important lessons about other people’s needs and respecting people with different backgrounds and traumas.

Another mark in the plus column is the content, which skews remarkably mild. Admittedly, there are more extreme profanities than you’d usually see in a PG-13 rated film, but most of them are heard in a single song. Other profanities are quite limited. Most surprising for a European film is the complete lack of nudity – sure, most of the characters are prostitutes, but that’s about it for sexual issues. They’re not working on screen. The most unpleasant content are the depictions of a child selling drugs, but that’s unpleasant on purpose. The film is hardly endorsing that kind of behavior and portrays it extremely negatively as part of its overall moral lesson.

With standout performances from Sophia Loren and Ibrahima Gueye, The Life Ahead offers a surprisingly clear and concise drama, one which is tragic but not a tragedy, and surprisingly wholesome to boot. I wouldn’t recommend this for young children due to some mature subject matter, but older teens would benefit from this look at how the other half lives and struggles. It’s not often that Netflix puts out something this compelling, and if nothing else, you should watch this just to encourage Netflix in the right direction.