The Son's Room (2001)

A psychoanalyst and his family go through profound emotional trauma when their son dies in a scuba diving accident.

Director:

Nanni Moretti

Writers:

Nanni Moretti (story), Linda Ferri (screenplay)

Stars:

Nanni Moretti, Laura Morante, Jasmine Trinca

16 wins & 27 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nanni Moretti	...	Giovanni Sermonti
Laura Morante	...	Paola Sermonti
Jasmine Trinca	...	Irene Sermonti
Giuseppe Sanfelice	...	Andrea Sermonti
Stefano Abbati	...	Patient
Stefano Accorsi	...	Tommaso - a Patient
Toni Bertorelli	...	Patient
Dario Cantarelli	...	Patient
Eleonora Danco	...	Patient
Claudia Della Seta	...	Raffaella - a Patient
Luisa De Santis	...	Patient
Silvio Orlando	...	Oscar - a Patient
Sofia Vigliar	...	Arianna
Renato Scarpa	...	Headmaster
Roberto Nobile	...	Priest

Storyline

Giovanni is a successful psychoanalyst who has to put up with the seemingly endless string of trivial details his patients ramble on about. Yet his family provides a loving and steadfast foundation for his life that can even survive a problem like their son, Andrea, being accused of stealing a rare fossil in school. That foundation is profoundly rocked when Andrea dies in a scuba diving accident. Although the usual arrangements run smoothly, the emotional harm is profound. Giovanni begins to obsessively dwell on the missed chances he had with his son that might have saved his life, even blaming his patients. In addition , his wife is inconsolable and his daughter is becoming anti social in their loss. In the midst of this turmoil, a secret of their son's life is revealed that provides healing in a way they never anticipated.

---

Plot Keywords:

scuba diving | psychoanalyst | running | loss of son | psychoanalysis | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some sexuality

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian Latin

Release Date:

9 March 2001 (Italy)

Also Known As:

La habitación del hijo

Filming Locations:

Ancona, Marche, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,887, 27 January 2002

Gross USA:

$1,016,340

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$11,767,402

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sacher Film, Bac Films, StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Margherita Buy auditioned for the role of Paola, she acted all of her scenes. Nanni Moretti eventually chose Laura Morante for the part.

---

Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: What's the Worst That Could Happen?/Pearl Harbor/The Anniversary Party/Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001)

---

Soundtracks

By This River
Written by Brian Eno (as B.Eno), Hans-Joachim Roedelius (as Roedelius) & Dieter Moebius (as Moebius)
Performed by Brian Eno
Ed. Musicali BMG Ricordi
Virgin

User Reviews

Endless grief

The family ties in this film are so astoundingly true to life, it almost brings back the tears... I cannot think of a better film dealing with grief than La Stanza del Figlio, I swear on my own life. You could think that there was nothing new to bring to the subject of the movie, and boy would you be very very wrong. Moretti deals with the loss of his son in such an amazingly realistic way, it's almost scary... And the sister, played by Jasmine Trinca, is also an endearing character. You truly and deeply feel what their family feels - the negative reviews on this type of movie are ill-directed because they are NOT the target audience. They unfortunately sneaked in the wrong theater !!

Moretti's best. Period.