BELLISSIMA

The story begins when fifteen-year-old Maria is pulled from a beauty pageant because her mother has falsified her age in the entry forms. This is the first of many episodes in Maria's accelerated maturation, due in part to her physical beauty and precocity, but also to the ruthless ambition of her overbearing mother, who is obsessed by the idea of her daughter becoming a supermodel and entering the world of show business. Maria's career is meant to make up for her mother's unfulfilled dreams of the past. The girl's beautiful long hair may be the key to her success, just as it was in the case of pop star Violetta Villas, who is her mother's idol. However, Maria will rebel against her mother's misguided love, and ultimately it will be she who will assume the maternal role in their relationship.