Customer Reviews

The Keys to the House

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The story of a father being reunited with a long lost son can do one of two things: bring us to familiar territory that is often hackneyed, or teach us new lessons about humanity. THE KEYS OF THE HOUSE does the latter.

The film tells the story of Gianni, a thirty something man who fathered a child as a teenager. The young woman died giving birth and Gianni decides never to see the child. Fifteen years later, he is married with a newborn son and learns that his son Paolo, who is severely disabled, would benefit from contact with his father and it is at this point the film begins. Gianni is surprised at how quickly he feels love for the child, due largely to the genuineness of Paolo, but in his first few days of meeting his son, he also begins to discover the complexities that will inevitably be a part of this relationship. At the end of the film we are left wondering what will happen to the pair, which could be a "happily ever after" scenario or abandonment.

One of the reasons the film works so well is due to the character Nicole played masterfully by Charlotte Rampling. Nicole is the mother of a child more profoundly disabled that Paolo. She supports Gianni but also is honest enough to share her conflicting feelings. She does a wonderful job at presenting a mother that both loves and resents her child and admires Gianni while at the same time being repulsed by him.

I cannot help but see how viewers will be moved by this film. Though the film is generally upbeat, there are no "feel good" moments in it, but the film doesn't need it. The character of Paolo whose goodness and heart are so evident throughout the film does what so many other films cannot do. Its honesty will challenge anyone, speaking not as a viewer unaware of the realities of people with disabilities, but as a brother of a person with Cerebral Palsy who has had to wrestle with some of the issues found in this film. It is a film I am glad to have in my collection and one I know I will see differently each time I view it.

I did not know what to expect from this movie. Although the plot was outlined on the box, no words could describe what a profound experience this film holds for those open to its message. The beauty of this story is such that as the last scene unfolds your heart aches from what you have experienced.

The execution from all parties creating this work of art is flawless. The young man who plays Paolo gives one of the bravest performances I've ever seen. Kim Rossi Stuart's physical approach to getting to know his son is incredibly beautiful and compassionate. The honesty of his performance is astounding.

I feel a deeper since of compassion for others as a result of seeing this movie. It touched me as no other film ever has. I cannot express strongly enough how moving The Keys to the House is. It makes me so happy to see there are people left in this world that have the capacity of compassion for others to make a film that can forever change the heart of those who see it.

LE CHIAVI DI CASA (THE KEYS TO THE HOUSE) is a brave, humble, simple, eloquent work of art. Director and writer (with Sandro Petraglia) Gianni Amelio has the courage to address a subject that is difficult for most viewers and has created one of the more tender love stories on film. Aided by an incomparably fine cast and a fine cinematographer (Luca Bigazzi) and composer (Franco Piersanti), he has found a means to touch everyone with a story that, BECAUSE of its subject matter, gives more insight into the human condition than almost any other film to date.

Amelio begins his story quietly and progresses slowly, allowing the viewer to cope with the realities of the tale in a manner of comfort. In the opening scene Gianni (Kim Rossi Stuart) is meeting with Alberto (Pierfrancesco Favino) in a frank discussion about the status of Paolo (Andrea Rossi), the son of Gianni whom he has never seen, the child being born as his girlfriend dies in childbirth. Alberto and his wife have been caring for Paolo for fifteen years, loving him, admiring him, working with the fact that Paolo has cerebral palsy with he concomitant handicaps of distorted limbs but with a mind and heart completely normal. Paolo's doctor has informed Alberto that perhaps having Paolo connect with his birth father may aid his progress in walking normally and increasing his self-care. So at this meeting Alberto, regrettably, turns Paolo over to the hesitant Gianni, an appliances worker who is now married and has a new child.

Gianni and Paolo meet for the first time, board a train to Berlin for the best Children's Orthopedic Hospital available. Very gradually the two begin to learn about each other; Paolo wants to prove he is self-reliant, Gianni wants to prove he is an adequate caregiver. In Berlin Gianni observes Paolo's intensive physical training, finding the boy's strengths and qualities and need for love. While Paolo is hospitalized Gianni meets Nicole (the brilliant Charlotte Rampling) whose 20-year-old daughter Nadine (Alla Faerovich) is severely physically challenged: Nicole has devoted her life to being at the bedside of Nadine and shares with Gianni the truths about parenting challenged children. Their conversations are sage and realistic and enormously touching.

Gianni and Paolo begin to bond, to share their lives, to explain the fifteen year gap in their relationship, and Gianni agrees to fulfill Paolo's dream of going to Norway to meet Paolo's pen pal love Kristine. Along this 'road trip' the two ultimately face the idiosyncrasies life has offered each, they grow from each other and .... well, the ending is far too beautifully formed to spoil.

Obviously the easy way to make this film would have been to hire actors to 'mimic' challenged characters, but it is to Amelio's credit and for our good fortune that he has cast unknown physically challenged youths in the pivotal roles. Andrea Rossi as Paolo is a revelation: he gives the kind of performance that is at once honest and yet delicately nuanced. Both Kip Rossi Stuart and Charlotte Rampling are extraordinary, each playing their roles without a trace of bathos. This film does not stab for emotional response; it simply allows connection with a story about the importance of human love and compassion and family commitment. I cannot recommend a film more highly. Grady Harp, July 05

I was utterly astonished and enlightened to know the fact someone actually produced such a difficult movie in every sense.
It is very important for most of us ,who have been contaminated by typical Hollywood money and fame crazed film making scheme,to watch this film.
This movie is so sincerely and realistically produced that I could not even tell during the first 15 minutes that if one particular young actor was actually acting and when I realized that he was acting,that was another refreshing surprise.
I thought Sean Penn did a wonderful job in "I am Sam ",but this movie is 100 times better.It deals with rather a tragic theme in an extremely quiet and non-dramatic way ,yet the movie does not make us cry. Instead it makes us strong and aware of the necessity of world compassion.
I am very appreciative for all the people who were involved in making this movie.

THE KEYS TO THE HOUSE was written and directed by Gianni Amelio in 2004. The film is based on a novel written by Giuseppe Pontiggia. Let's observe that another novel of this writer Born Twice is read and brought to life by Charlotte Rampling in a few scenes of the film.

The Amazon reviewers have eloquently praised the tactful way Gianni Amelio handles a so delicate topic as handicapped children. As I totally agree with them, I would rather like to point out here a few elements subtly suggested by the director in the movie. First of all, it's not happening by chance if the action of THE KEYS TO THE HOUSE takes place in Berlin, Germany. For an European viewer, the city of Berlin implies all kinds of connotations that come immediately to mind when this city is mentioned. So, Berlin can be considered as the center of Europe, a fact very important here since the characters of the film will have to go first to Norway in the extreme northern part of Europe before taking the decision to come back to Gianni's homeland, Italy, a country symbolizing, in our collective unconscious, the South. I believe that it could be interesting to decode THE KEYS OF THE HOUSE with this geographical metaphor in mind.

Another way to appreciate the film is to observe how Gianni Amelio confines the characters in hotel rooms, stuffy corridors with locked windows, trains, subways and at last Gianni's car in Norway in a very claustrophobic manner. We are literally conditioned to feel, like the little Paolo, an intense sense of relief and liberty when he finally runs away from his father or during the crossing of the North Sea.

When I watch a film like THE KEYS TO THE HOUSE, I suddenly remember why I like so much movies.

A DVD for your library.

If we are supposed to be reviewing the DVD itself, I give it 4 stars because the subtitles were hard to read. The movie itself is deserving of FIVE stars. This was an astoundingly beautiful story. So sad, yet so beautiful. Its beauty lies in the development of a father's love for a son he abandoned at birth. Kim Rossi Stuart pours his heart into this role. Young Andrea Rossi is wonderful as Paolo, the teenager who meets his father for the first time.

This heart-felt, brave Italian film is built on a simple premise - after 15 years, a runaway father reenters the life of his disabled son and begins an attempt to make amends for his abandonment. Surprisingly, it is really the son's story as he puts his clueless father to the test over and again, forcing him to let go of his preconceptions and self-serving expectations. Meanwhile, the mother of a severely disabled daughter befriends the boy's father and makes clear to him the suffering that awaits him should he take full responsibility for his son.

Kim Rossi Stuart, with his male-model good looks, may have been perfectly cast as the still callow and naïve father. But one wonders what another actor might have brought to the role of a man who has made a cowardly choice and struggles with insufficient resources to deal with what now faces him. Meanwhile, he is upstaged at nearly every turn by the young Andrea Rossi, who delivers are far more nuanced performance, as the boy who must decide how well he can trust a man who has betrayed him in the past so profoundly.

Charlotte Rampling is, as usual, almost woundingly affecting as the mother who has sacrificed her life for the sake of her daughter. Her face registers twenty years of care, resignation, sorrow, and love. Taken together, the film is a remarkable departure from the mainstream, told with simplicity and unusual power.

I watched this outstanding movie encased in sorrow and joy. I have a precious 4 year old grand"sun" who has autism, and was finding myself thinking about him throughout the entire film...which actually helped me to understand more about this "other" level of thought.

Emotionally stirring. I highly suggest this movie to anyone who thinks he knows it all...boy are you in for a learning experience.

I watched this movie in Astro Box Office Movies in Malaysia, which is the equivalent to Cable TV in America. I will definetely buy this wonderful movie, so well acted, so poignant and heartwarming. Can not help but simpathize with the young father that has to make a commitment to love and care for the son he has never seen, intelligent but not normal, full of love to give and a mind that is all there sometimes, and sometimes he falls into his disability. To sensitive persons, get a tissue box next to you when you watch this movie. Wonderful acting, wonderful story.

All the best about this movie is accurately outlined in others' reviews here on Amazon, but I must add my two cents that this is a first rate, 5 star film, hands down. The power house performances of the three main characters will have you spellbound, but especially so with the disabled boy Paolo who is truly disabled with muscular dystrophy, lending an air of authenticity to this story that makes it all the more real and moving. With depth of emotion but never sickly sweet, Keys To The House is the kind of movie that will continue to emotionally reverberate with you a long time after viewing.