Really. I’m not going to go into detail on the plot, because a great deal of the pleasure of the film is just that – the plot that unfolds at a rather leisurely pace, beginning with what seem like three separate 
storylines that ever so gradually merge. But here are the bare bones: this religious sister, walking in a park in Milan one day, has a baby thrust into her arms by a fellow who has just found it. She takes the baby to the hospital, but keeps the sweater in which the baby was wrapped – she hopes to identify the baby’s mother by the dry-cleaning tag on the sweater. This takes her to a laundry run by a rather sad fellow who is distant from his employees, lives in his own world, and, at first, refuses the nun any help. Eventually, though, he relents..and there you go.
The film is gentle and a bit slow. Sort of moody, I suppose, but I’d rather call it thoughtful. There are twists in the story, and it doesn’t go where you think it’s going more than once. Religious life is very respectfully and accurately presented. We see the full range of life in and around Milan, and in the ordinary lives of dry cleaners, gelateria workers, police officers, and so on. While religious imagery runs through the film, I’d have to say that the religious thematic material is rather lightly done. The film has more general point about the human yearning for connection, and how so much of the time it can be just a small thing – like a baby – that can reconnect us to each other and our own humanity, if we only let it.
Oh, and Katie and I just really like hearing people say, "Pronto!" when they answer the phone…
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