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The Son's Room
Studio: Miramax
Year: 2001
Rated: R
Film Length: 92 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 16X9 Enhanced Widescreen (1.66:1)
Subtitles: English captions
I am always looking at a stack of unfamiliar
DVD titles, wondering what title I should review
next. I chose The Son's Room simply because
it was a Best Picture winner at the Canne's Film
Festival. After just finishing this movie, I don't
think I could have made a better viewing selection.
Nanni Moretti (Director of the film) plays Giovanni,
a psychoanalyst living in a coastal Italian city with
two attractive, levelheaded teenage children Irene
(Jasmine Trinca) and Andrea (Giuseppe Sanfelice) and
a beautiful wife, Paola (Laura Morante). There's
a real sense of love and normalcy within in this
family, and for the most part, everyone seems happy
together.
Giovanni is the force that binds his well-adjusted
family together. He has a way of keeping a calm
amongst those around him -- specifically his many
troubled patients that speak cataclysmically of
suicide and murder.
Suddenly, this harmonious family's life is changed
when son Andrea is killed in a diving accident.
There's a touching scene where Giovanni walks
into a school gym to deliver the bad news to his
daughter. There, on the basketball court, her
daughter only has to stop and look into her father's
tear-soaked eyes to see that something is terribly
wrong. The family descends into a toxin of grief.
Paola weeps out aloud in her bed. Giovanni's sorrow
infects his therapy sessions, spoiling his judgment.
He is a damaged man striving to mend the pain of
others while dealing with his own.
The Son's Room tells the story of its family's
shared road to recovering from tragedy, or at the
very least, acknowledging the fact that they must
somehow move on. It moves along with a very deep
and calming effect, managing to touch you with its
innermost emotions.
How is the transfer?
I would have given this transfer more praise if
not for the fact that there is a noticeable amount
of noise that shows up in the white walls and dark
clothing. It's just enough to be bothersome.
Picture is not overly sharp nor detailed, though
colors do manage to come off looking very natural.
One of the color highlights of this film is watching
a grieving Giovanni walk through a carnival, with
its kaleidoscope of colors.
The Italian Dolby Digital surround track doesn't
add anything to the viewing experience. Most of
the sound's energy is focused to the center channel
which bleeds to the front channels. The rears don't
really come into play other than throwing some of
the film's musical score into their respective
channels. Still, the overall quality of sound is
very good. This is just one of those films where
sound really doesn't play an important role.
Special Features
This is not a feature-rich DVD package -- and that's
fine by me, because it's actually the film that
holds its purchase value. In addition to the
film's original theatrical trailer, there
are trailers for other Miramax titles including
Amelie, Children Of Heaven and In The
Bedroom.
Final Thoughts
I am giving The Son's Room my coveted
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED status. I do so for two
reasons....first, it's just one of those films
that took me by total surprise, drawing me into
its innards and touching me emotionally. Second,
I realize how hard it is to sell foreign film to
members of this forum. It is my hopes that by
recommending this film people will at the very
least decide to rent it. I don't think anyone
that sees it will walk away unmoved.
Release Date: October 8, 2002
