‘Miele’ by Valeria Golino

‘Miele’, Valeria Golino’s directorial debut, recounts the story of Irene, a young Italian woman who makes a living illegally assisting in the deaths of terminally ill individuals. In her professional life, Irene goes by the name ‘Miele’ (honey). Irene is shown to be headstrong and independent, and to have strong convictions about her work: while she enjoys the thrill of her covert trips to Mexico to obtain over-the-counter barbiturates used by veterinarians, she also sees herself to be caring for and helping vulnerable and suffering people. Her understanding of her work is shaken, however, when she meets Carlo. It is not until after Carlo has purchased the medication with which he will be able to end his life from Irene that she learns that he is not terminally ill, but simply no longer wants to live. Upon discovering this fact, Irene becomes very upset, and attempts to retrieve the medication from Carlo and return her payment. Carlo does not let her. The two begin spending time together and become friends. Irene seeks comfort in Carlo after she assists in the death of a young man and is distraught. Upon seeing her so sad, Carlo understands that she will feel responsible for his death if he uses the medication he bought from her. He returns the medication to her, leaving it at her home for her to find, and Irene is briefly relieved, thinking he has changed his mind about wanting to die. Upon going to his place to visit him, she discovers, however, that he has ended his life in another way. While Irene is upset and grieves for her friend, she also makes peace with his actions, or so the movie’s final scenes imply.

Assisted dying remains illegal in Italy (though Tuscany passed a right-to-die law in early 2025) and strongly opposed by the Catholic church, as it was in 2013 when ‘Miele’ was produced. When the Italian constitutional court ruled in 2019 that it was not always punishable to aid in the suicide of an individual in ‘intolerable suffering,’ Pope Francis spoke out against assisted suicide and euthanasia, saying it is important to resist the temptation “to use medicine to satisfy a sick person’s possible wish to die.” Such debates, however, were not ongoing until after ‘Miele’ was released. While ‘Miele’ never explicitly advances a position for or against assisted dying, the film does explore the topic through Irene and Carlo’s conversations. The two characters disagree as to whether or not otherwise healthy people who wish to die should have the right to an assisted death. Irene firmly believes that she cannot help Carlo end his life while he believes more people should have access to the service she provides. It is unclear whether either character changes his or her mind on the topic by the end of the film. Carlo returns the lethal medication to Irene, but kills himself regardless, without her help, so as not to implicate her. Irene grieves for her friend, and comes to make peace with his actions, but does not appear to experience regret at not having helped him take his own life. Instead, the audience witnesses a personal transformation in Irene, if not a transformation of her beliefs, through her relationship with Carlo. As such, the film is more concerned with Irene’s character development than with the assisted dying debate, which is perhaps why it did not provoke controversy and was well received within the Italian context and beyond.