Das Zimmer meines Sohnes

The family ties in this film are so astoundingly true to life, it almost brings back the tears... I cannot think of a better film dealing with grief than La Stanza del Figlio, I swear on my own life. You could think that there was nothing new to bring to the subject of the movie, and boy would you be very very wrong. Moretti deals with the loss of his son in such an amazingly realistic way, it's almost scary... And the sister, played by Jasmine Trinca, is also an endearing character. You truly and deeply feel what their family feels - the negative reviews on this type of movie are ill-directed because they are NOT the target audience. They unfortunately sneaked in the wrong theater !!

Moretti's best. Period.

This is one of the movies I wouldn't like to rate. But I would recommend each and everyone of you to watch it. I'm sucker for Palme D'or winners and how could I miss this one? I'm pretty sure the concept of losing out a family member have been explored by many directors, but there is something unique about this one. Directing himself in the movie (I really think it's a very difficult job to do that), Nanni Moretti hasn't put a foot wrong. And, if you're looking for a very good screenplay and some breathtaking cinematography, this is not your thing. This movie is all about actors pouring out their emotions on screen and a really sweet background score. What got me raving about the movie is how we blame every single action of ours when things don't go our way (I think majority of us to do that). La Stanza Del Figlio is simplicity personified. I'd say a must watch.

I read almost all the reviews, before watching the film. I was impressed by the contradictive opinions. Some 1500 users (approx. 10%) rated it from 5 to 1. Personally, I was fascinated by the film. On the other hand I will never blame anyone who disliked it. I just try to understand why someone rejects what I like and that's why I read the "negative" reviews twice, trying (like Giovanni) to analyze reviewers' characters. Certainly this is not a film for Hollywood/Marvel fans. European cinema deals mostly with real people in real life incidents and stories. Therefore they apply to completely different audiences than the above mentioned fans. So, for European mentalities the film is very good, believe me!

Nanni Moretti's deserved winner of the Palme D'Or was a controversial choice, if only because it is a film grounded in reality and truth. We know these characters for a change, they are the neighbours whom we fear approach because of their loss and raw pain.

Moretti, in his subtle yet magnificent performance and in his deft, assured direction, has crafted a film which transcends cliche and sentimentality in spite of its well trodden subject matter. As in his earlier effort, 'Caro Diario' the viewer is held transfixed by his languid cinematic storytelling, which is nonetheless riveting.

Without resorting to pat endings or easy solutions to the characters' individual suffering (beautifully rendered by each of the performers, whose roles portray distinct yet relevant facets of grief) the film manages a redemption in unexpected, yet highly satisfying, fashion. I left the screening at the Toronto International Film Festival feeling completely exhilarated and grateful to this natural filmmaker.

A beautiful portrait of true, real emotion.

It takes a certain amount of cheek to write, direct and star in your own films and Nanni Moretti's earlier work, 'Carao Diaro', was certainly eccentric, as he played himself as an annoying and socially limited loner. In 'The Son's Room', he proves he can act a role, in a more orthodox portrait of a family struggling to come to terms with the death of their son. The portrait of inter-generational relationships seems over-idealised (and how many teenagers are into Brian Eno?), but the real strength of this film is its sense of inicidentality. Instead of playing as straight melodrama, we see the family trying to continue with their lives, and in particular Moretti's character, a psychotherapist, interacting with his patients. The importance attached to the chance juxtaposition of events is reminiscent of Kieslowski, as is some of the dialogue: stylised but profound, even (or even because) its relationship to the main events is oblique: the whole carries meaning precisely because the individual parts are not overloaded, everything is potentially symbolic but nothing is forced. At the end of the day you believe in these characters; as a result, their tragedy rings with truth.