Themes: Death of a Child, Fathers and Sons, Doctors and Patients
Main Cast: Nanni Moretti, Laura Morante, Jasmine Trinca, Giuseppe Sanfelice, Sofia Vigliar, Silvio Orlando
Release Year: 2001
Country: IT/FR
Run Time: 87 minutes
Plot
A family struggles to go on after a devastating loss in this deeply emotional drama from Italy. Giovanni (Nanni Moretti) is a psychiatrist with a successful practice in a small community near the ocean. Giovanni has a warm relationship with his wife Paola (Laura Morante), and they have a pair of well-adjusted teenage kids, Andrea (Giuseppe Sanfelice) and Irene (Jasmine Trinca). But the family's calm is shattered when Andrea is unexpectedly killed in an accident. Giovanni finds it impossible to continue with his work, and blames himself for the death, since he was planning to go jogging with Andrea that morning before he opted instead to take an emergency call from a client. Paola and Irene try to keep their emotions in check, but both find this all but impossible as they sink further into anger and grief. The appearance of an unexpected visitor, however, forces the family to confront their feelings about Andrea. Arianna (Sofia Vigliar) is a girl who had a summer romance with Andrea the year before, and has come to town to pay him a surprise visit, unaware of his recent death. Nanni Moretti directed and co-wrote this film, while also starring as Giovanni; it was his first dramatic feature in over a decade after devoting himself to documentaries and short films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
A relatively straightforward film about a father dealing with the death of his son, La Stanza Del Figlio was a surprising choice for the coveted Palm d'Or Award at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Unlike many past winners, the film is neither arty nor epic in its vision. Its director and star, Nanni Moretti, adds some eccentric bits to his character, Giovanni, in the beginning of the film, none of which are particularly funny. After his son Andrea's (Giuseppe Sanfelice) death a half-hour or so into the film, the tone shifts to how Giovanni and his family attempt to cope with their loss. Some of these scenes are very moving and the film renders a fairly typical, upper-middle-class family's reaction to this horrible event with much tear-inducing skill. But the film is definitely similar to many TV movies about diseases and family deaths. Thankfully, it doesn't drag out its story like TV movies and occasionally rises above those films because of the strength of Moretti's performance, as well as some well-drawn scenes. Still, it is definitely a modest film for such a prestigious award. ~ Adam Bregman, All Movie Guide
