The Son's Room (2001)

Director: Nanni Moretti

Writers: Nanna Moretti, Linda Ferri 

Stars: Nanni Moretti, Laura Morante, Jasmine Trinca

Runtime: 99min

PLOT: A psychoanalyst and his family goes through intense emotional trauma when their son passes away in a scuba diving accident. 

REVIEW: The story follows an Italian family through the various stages of grieving. Throughout the film the family's instinctive denial, sorrow, anger, bargain, depression and acceptation is thoroughly seen. The overall effect is very touching as these stages reflect in the clearly seen details of everyday life. The film uses the accident to show each family member's effort in coping with the loss, spinning themselves into their own private corners. Giovanni, portrayed by Moretti, displays the most real grief among the cast and is vibrant during his alone-times, where he becomes obsessed over miniscule details such as sonic bridges in opera songs. The director, Moretti, focuses more on the shades and tones of the film rather than the plot itself. A particular sequence is crucial in the film; a letter arrives for the dead Andrea from a girl named Arianna, whom she met for only one day. The film uses this letter and Arianna's appearance as a way of resolving the story. Arianna becomes the instrument of acceptance, representing the notion that life must go on. 

The movie is a demonstration of how a director can sometimes reach out to the audience and touch them in an extraordinary way. One of Nanni Moretti's finest, which brings out trepidation from the very core and finishes off with a message representing the merciless truth.

Source: Robert Ebert