Sofia Villani Scicolone first strolled into the movies via a 1950 beauty pageant. She was 15 years old. Re-named “Sophia Loren” by her husband Carlo onti, she got attention immediately, for her beauty, but also for her talent. She was a glamorous woman who played decidedly unglamorous roles, her onscreen personality being earthy, high-tempered, no-nonsense. She came from a very real place, she did not seem like she was manufactured in a Hollywood lab. Loren had to fight to get many of the roles she wanted, roles she knew was right for. She fought to play the mother in Vittorio De Sica’s “Two Women” (1960), and her instincts were clearly correct. She was showered with awards for that performance, including the Best Actress Oscar. The Life Ahead

Her career at this point has spanned 70 years, putting her in very rarified company. Loren hasn’t appeared in anything in over a decade. She remains such a huge star that her appearance in anything is always an event. So, too, with Netflix’s “The Life Ahead,” directed by her son, Edoardo Ponti. The fear going into the film was that it would not be worthy of her. Thankfully, it is. The Life Ahead