Alone with Livio and her daughter, Anna is drawn to the boy's tenderness and sensitivity—qualities so absent in her imprisoned husband. What follows is a slow-burning, forbidden romance that builds into a passionate affair, full of desire and danger.

The movie is set against the beautiful, sun-drenched backdrop of the Tuscan coast during the early 1960s.

Set in the sun-drenched Tuscan countryside during the late 1950s, the film follows Anna, a beautiful Sicilian single mother.

The Second Wife (1998) is a beautiful, if problematic, Italian film that is a true showcase for the talents of Maria Grazia Cucinotta. While it might be a challenge to find a legal way to watch it right now, its recent physical release and continued presence on smaller European platforms offer a glimmer of hope. For fans of international cinema and romantic dramas, it is a film worth the extra effort to track down.

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In the summer of 1957, a beautiful Sicilian single mother, Anna (Maria Grazia Cucinotta), marries Fosco (Lazar Ristovski), a much older, bullish truck driver, and moves with her infant daughter to his home on the Tuscan coast, where he lives with his teenage son, Livio (Giorgio Noe). When Fosco is arrested for robbing Etruscan graves, Anna and Livio are drawn into a passionate and complicated romance.

Occasionally available via Prime Video or the Miramax catalog in select European territories. 🔍 Tracker

The movie's enduring reputation relies heavily on its strong central performances and distinct visual direction: