How a song by The Cure inspired the Italian-French film “My Summer with Irene”

Listening to The Cure’s 1992 song “To Wish Impossible Things” was a major inspiration for Italian filmmaker Carlo Sironi in writing, co-writing, and directing the Italian-French drama My Summer with Irene.

“Young and shy Clara meets fiery Irene,” reads the website of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where the film was screened last week in the Horizons section. “These two girls with completely opposite personalities meet through their recent struggle with an illness that, in the midst of their vulnerable teenage years, has transformed their outlook on life. When they impulsively decide to spend time by the sea, they feel as if they want to stop time.”

The idea came quite spontaneously. “The way this film started is a bit strange to me,” Sironi told the audience at the 58th edition…