Keys to the house (Le chiavi di casa)

Country of origin and year: France, Germany, Italy, 2004 Genre: Drama Screenplay: Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia, and others Directed by: Gianni Amelio Music: Franco Piersatni Cast: Andrea Rossi, Kim Rossi Stuart, Charlotte Rampling Medical topic: intellectual disability Description: Paolo’s birth was difficult, resulting in his mother’s death and the boy’s permanent disability. Terrified by the loss of his beloved wife and his son’s condition, Gianni disappears from his son’s life for many years, leaving Paolo with his wife’s family. He returns after 15 years to take Paolo for tests at a clinic in Berlin, perhaps hoping that the boy can still be “cured.” At first, the father-son relationship seems to proceed smoothly, but only until Gianni increasingly notices his son’s mental disability, which begins to irritate him. Humility and patience are taught to the inexperienced father by a woman he meets by chance at the clinic—the mother of a girl with whom communication is far more difficult than with Paolo. Will Gianni successfully pass the test of emotional maturity and decide to share his life with a son who requires constant care?