Michele is a young filmmaker frustrated by the lack of understanding his work receives and at odds with the film industry, especially a colleague making a musical on the '68 student protests. As he struggles to complete his own film about Freud's mother, Michele's insecurity and creative block manifest in a series of unsettling nightmares. Nanni Moretti's self-inquiry into cinema, political ennui, and men's relationships with their mothers.

Nanni Moretti
as Michele Apicella

Nicola Di Pinto
as Nicola

Laura Morante
as Silvia

Alessandro Haber
as Gaetano

Remo Remotti
as Freud

Piera Degli Esposti
as Madre di Michele

Gigio Morra
as Gigio Cimino

Giampiero Mughini
as Presentatore TV

Dario Cantarelli
as critico

Tatti Sanguineti
as aiuto regista