Delpeut explores the phenomenon of divism-in particular, how the Italian film diva reshaped the concept of the sexually liberated woman that had been so popular in the decadent Romanticism of the fin de siècle. But unconditional passion could not go unpunished before the cinema audience: “A Calvary of loss, guilt, and self torment was her inevitable fate in these stories. She played the dolorous diva, the diva dolorosa.” Delpeut reworks archival footage from preserved Italian films of the teens to create “the ultimate diva film” starring Francesca Bertini, Lyda Borelli, Soava Gallone, Pina Menichelli, and Helena Makowska. The original symphonic music is composed by Loek Dikker. A must for devotees of the Italian diva, the film is a lyrical gem in its own right.