Moretti is interested in simple behavior, captured at a polite but insightful distance, and this quiet, subtly moving drama says more about the qualities that make us human with a whisper than most other movies can say with a shout.
The Son's Room (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:81
Fresh:68
Rotten:13
Average Rating:7.3/10
Consensus: The Son's Room is a moving and contemplative study of grief.
Synopsis: Nanni Moretti's extraordinary drama THE SON'S ROOM, which won the Palme D'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, tells the harrowing story of a once tight-knit, happy family having to come to terms... Nanni Moretti's extraordinary drama THE SON'S ROOM, which won the Palme D'Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, tells the harrowing story of a once tight-knit, happy family having to come to terms with a devastating loss and get on with their lives. Nanni Moretti, the writer-director of the charming CARO DIARIO, which was based on his own life, has created this piece of fiction from scratch, but he nails it so well it is hard to believe it is not a documentary. Moretti, who not only stars in and directs the film but is also cowriter and coproducer, plays Giovanni, a happily married man with two wonderful children; he is also a psychoanalyst with a group of patients both hysterical and sad. He enjoys running through the streets of Ancona, but when he opts to make a rare house call one Sunday morning instead of going for a run with his son, tragedy strikes, and he can't help blaming himself and his choices. He starts having trouble listening to and caring about his patients, and he also distances himself from his wife, played magnificently by Laura Morante. One of the underlying themes of the film is the need to make--and break--scheduled appointments that threaten to overtake one's life with its potential for compulsive obsession; as Giovanni dreams of past scenes playing out differently, he can't help but think that if he had rearranged his schedule based on the importance and necessity of his appointments, his idyllic world might not have been turned upside down. [More]
Starring: Nanni Moretti, Jasmine Trinca, Guiseppe Sanfelice, Silvio Orlando
Starring: Nanni Moretti, Jasmine Trinca, Guiseppe Sanfelice, Silvio Orlando, Claudi Della Seta, Stefano Accorsi, Sofia Vigliar, Laura Morante
Director: Nanni Moretti
Director: Nanni Moretti
Screenwriter: Linda Ferri, Nanni Moretti, Heidrun Schleef
Producer: Angelo Barbagallo, Nanni Moretti
Composer: Nicola Piovani
Studio: Miramax Films
Reviews for The Son's Room
Stands apart for its raw, quiet emotion and its shattering sense of truth.
...tells its story of grief with efficiency but not with a great deal of heart.
While not as aggressively impressive as its American counterpart, "In the Bedroom," Moretti's film makes its own, quieter observations
Happily stays close to the ground in a spare and simple manner and doesn't pummel us with phony imagery or music.
The best way to see The Son's Room is to know the title and the location of the theater, and that's all.
This is a film brimming with detail and nuance and one that speaks volumes about the ability of the human spirit to find solace in events that could easily crush it forever.
Sometimes in a quite ordinary way a director can reach out and touch us.
While events have necessarily changed perspectives on the film, it maintains a gentle, respectful sensibility.
It's rare for any movie to be as subtle and touching as The Son's Room.
Moretti doesn't wrap the grieving, the angst, in melodrama. The facts are given. And the suffering is palpable.
Moretti and especially Morante do ... a harrowingly good job of outlining their emotions.
Your appreciation of it will depend on what experiences you bring to it and what associations you choose to make.
Latest News for The Son's Room
September 07, 2009:
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