Solino

In the 1960s a family emigrates from the town of Solino in Abruzzo to the Ruhr in Germany. Rather than go down the mine, the father Romano opens a pizzeria and names it after his home town. As the sons Giancarlo and Gigi grow up and start working there, the conflict with their father grows. The brothers move out and share a flat with Johanna, a friend from childhood. When Gigi falls for her it comes between them. When their mother Rosa has to return to Italy for her health one of them must go with her, and the choice becomes impossible. Fatih Akin directed. Moritz Bleibtreu plays Giancarlo, Barnaby Metschurat plays Gigi, Gigi Savoia plays the father Romano and Antonella Attili plays the mother Rosa. It runs 124 minutes and moves between German and Italian. It is the first feature Akin did not write himself, and the film where he approaches migration through an Italian rather than a Turkish family. Who it is for: viewers interested in the history of migration to Germany and in stories between brothers. Who it is not for: anyone expecting the harshness of Head-On. This film is far gentler and sits close to period melodrama.