De Volta à Itália

This was so beautiful, slow, unremarkable, simple, plain, absolutely lovely for anyone who enjoys what's real for those descriptions couldn't describe real life more. Well worth the watch.

I think this film is a great portrayal of a fractured father and son relationship, that heals when they finally confront their pains. I find it emotionally engaging.

First off this movie has the novelty of Micheál Richardson, the lead character as Jack, is the real life son of Liam Neeson who plays his father, Robert. The story involves the accidental death of his mother when he was much younger, in real life the actor's mother, Natasha Richardson, died from an accident when he was quite young.

So Jack is married and working as the director of an art gallery his in-laws own. He is in the process of divorce and is told the gallery is being sold. He wants to keep his job and the only way to do that is to buy the gallery.

When his mother died the valuable home on a nice property in Tuscany is left to husband and son, a 50-50 split. So Jack gets his dad to go with him to Italy so that they can sell the home, split the profits, and Jack can buy the gallery.

Nothing works as planned, the property had been neglected so long it was in a sad state of repairs, basically unsellable in that condition. So part of the story is their getting it fixed up properly. In the process dad meets the nice real estate lady, just moved there from England. And Jack meets a local chef with an 8-yr-old daughter.

All in all this is a very nice movie, overall it is about son and dad mending relationships and finally coming to grips with everything that was involved in mom's death.

My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library.

Funny and genuine...

The movie is a combination a romance and a drama. The story between father and son who have grown apart due to them losing their wife/mother is the main story line. The underlying story line is the failed marriage of Jack which leads tom him having rethink his life and determine what he wants to do.

The storyline between Robert and Jack is the central story in which emphasizes that the loss of Raffaela has caused an emotional rift between Robert and Jack. Both still find it difficult to cope with this loss. In the movie the distance between the two is portrayed with much splendor.

There are great scenes in which the barrier slowly breaks into pieces. During these scenes the viewer sees the more serious acting skills of Liam Neeson (in contrast to 'Taken' franchise, etc). The growing bond between the two is brought about by both of them opening up about themselves to Natalia. She is in a way the liaison to them resolving their issues.

At the same the fact that Jack and Natalia are in more or less the same situation makes them bond all the more. This budding romance is the story line that keeps the narrative light and provides a backdrop to the distance between Jack and Robert.

The Italian joie de vivre gives the movie a light-hearted almost comical character. in one scene Natalia offers to buy the house for a number of bowls of risotto. The Italian relaxed way of living, the Tuscan idylle in the midst of wild untouched nature makes it all the more laid-back and sets the mood of taking life less serious.

All in all it is a very good romantic drama which embodies the real life dramas that many people face after losing a relative like a mother or wife.

Occasionally funny movie about a damaged father-son relationship. It's very predictable though, even for me who is not normally good at predicting endings.