|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beautifully crafted by acclaimed director
Gianni Amelio, THE KEYS TO THE HOUSE
is a compassionate and rigorous explor-
ation of fatherhood and the often sur-
prising nature of disability.
After the film’s premiere in Venice in 2004, it became a box-office hit in Italy and was selected as Italy’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards 2004. |
|
|
 |
|
|
Inspired by Giuseppe Pontiggia’s novel 'Born Twice', about the author’s own son and his relation-
ship with him, THE KEYS TO THE HOUSE is this touching story of a young father forging a re-
lationship with his handicapped son, whom he meets for the first time as a teenager.
Paolo has cerebral palsy and is disabled both physically and psychologically. (His part is played
by Andrea Rossi who actually suffers from this disability.) He must travel to a special hospital in
Berlin for rehabilitation and is accompanied by his father, Gianni (Kim Rossi Stuart). Paolo has been living with his aunt and uncle and doesn’t know his father, who now hopes to get to know his estranged son, meeting him for the first time. In the hospital Gianni meets Nicole (superbly played by Charlotte Rampling), a strong woman dedicating herself entirely to the care of her handicapped daughter, and through their conversations, Nicole helps Gianni come to terms with the guilt of having abandoned his son. This revelation results in an unexpected and fragile happiness between a father and a son discovering each other and themselves in a place far from home. Upon its release in France LE MONDE wrote: ‘Like Rossellini, Amelio traces an inner truth, the transformation of the enigma of existence into a miracle...’ |
|
|
