‘la stanza del figlio' (The Son’s Room) is a 2001 Italian film written and directed by Nanni Moretti. The film won the Palme d’or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. It depicts the psychological effects on a family and their life after the death of their son (Wikipedia).
A family of four, Giovanni – played by Moretti, his wife Paola ,teenage daughter- Irene and son - Andria have a happy family life, which provides the Giovanni with a sense of stability. Juxtaposed on the family scenes are Giovanni’s psychoanalysis sessions. One patient never speaks. Another complains about everything. Then the woman with obsessive compulsive disorder. And a sex addict whose lust seems to be getting out of control, bordering on violence.
One day, Andrea is accused of stealing a rare fossil at school. There is unrest in the family, and a domestic run of whodunit which questions morality in general and puts Andrea in a fix follows. The film then changes tracks and Andrea dies in a scuba diving accident. This breaks the family, and we see finer layers of each character as they go through this emotional turmoil and face their own demons out in the open- guilt, despair, remorse, anger. In grief they seem to be locked in their own private hells and unable to reach out and connect with each other.
Post Andrea’s demise, we see the lead couple getting into a different kind of gloom, something which almost starts defining or rather redefining their daily life. They revisit the past through their conversations, mull over the tragedy over and over, discussing and analyzing possibilities and what-if’s, as they realize it is all taking them even deeper into the gloom and despair. One event that happened for the bad is taking all the worse possible proportions and a void that one gradually fills or looks to fill with the passage simply is refusing to fill.
In one sequence, Irene gets into a fight during her basketball match and is booed out by the crowd and is consequentially disqualified from the championship. On their way back, the parents who are sitting few seats away from her in the bus try to console her unsuccessfully. Another sequence follows where Irene is trying to score ‘empty baskets’ to her further dismay and haplessness.
At Andrea’s mourning- Giovanni gets restless at the priest’s consolation. All the divine justification does not, and maybe it is the first time ever for that, make sense to him. He questions all that is being said, albeit in the dead comfort of his wife and house, but does.
“Everything is broken, chipped, scratched, in this house...”
We see Giovanni unable to listen to his clients during the psychoanalysis sessions. He loses ‘all objectivity’ as he puts it. During his sessions he finds his client’s narratives inconsequential and starts thinking of all ways in which he could have prevented his son’s death.
Amidst all the other events, Paula discovers a love letter in Andrea’s room. This letter was written by Arianna, a girl who Andrea had met during a camping trip. Paula is deeply touched by the letter and hopes to find some solace in this girl, who seems to know their son so well.
On hearing about this, Giovanni attempts to write to Arianna, informing her about their son’s death. However for all his efforts, he is simply unable to pen the letter. Paula eventually calls her. But it does not turn out the way they expected. And another hope of them reconciling with life’s strange ways dies.
In a decisive sequence, Giovanni says it is time he says goodbye to practicing psychoanalysis. The patients, as expected, all react differently to the news. Some accept it with mild opposition while others react violently.
In a beautiful montage sequence around this time, we see all 3 members of the family finding it hard to do what they are trying to do. Giovanni who is trying to have dinner can’t have it, the lack of attention manifests itself in myriad ways, glasses break, wine gives way to breadcrumbs, bar conversations go futile, sleep is a rarity…
“You can’t turn back time.”
“That is exactly what I want to do!”
There is a hint of all money and material possessions proving to be futile in bringing a hint of happiness or hope to their now-saddened lives.
The film though moves emotionally from one event to the other, mere failed attempts of the family headed by Giovanni to regain their mundane yet comforting happiness, it sometimes gets a little bleak and detached in the way the scenes play out. When Giovanni visits the record store to get a flavor of Andrea’s favorite music and the music plays on while the tad familiar shopkeeper looks from the corners before walking away, there is a strange sense of alienation in this attempted reunion of sorts. You have mixed feelings for Giovanni. He is not outright convincing as a remorseful, regretful father, yet there is a strange music that rather literally hangs in the air as he walks out of the store with the song still playing on. The same song would conclude the film rather beautifully and matter-of-factly a few scenes later.
Last portions of the film are the strongest. Arianna’s unannounced visit to the family, the family’s reactions, the minor intricacies, the mannerisms, is the film’s quiet triumph over this rather tough approach of a grieving family plot. And then there is the tried angle of the undying spirit of quest, the long winding road of life that the film decides to leave us with. After going through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, finally acceptance is shown in the most unassuming yet convincing manner.
“…well, if Stefano says so...”
This is the only positive message that the film rather reassuringly delivers and negates the strong sense of ennui and a world of gloom that it creates all this while .
“Do not fall asleep, let’s keep each other awake.”
The long, impending night gets over in this typical road-movie-family-trip-transformation as they reach the French border. “What’s so funny”, Irene asks Giovanni and Paula. They simply smile back and we know things are going to be different for this grieving family this day on.
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