The Family

An apartment in the Prati district of Rome. The film almost never leaves it, and eighty years pass inside: from a christening in 1906 to an eightieth birthday in 1986, Carlo's life is told inside a crowded family moving through the same corridors. The structure is the idea. Wars, fascism and emigration all stay outside the door and only their effects are seen indoors. Who sleeps in which room, who sits at which end of the table, these say more than the history does. The real matter of Carlo's life is a choice too: the relationship with his sister-in-law that was never allowed to happen. Ettore Scola directed. Vittorio Gassman plays Carlo, with Stefania Sandrelli, Fanny Ardant, Philippe Noiret and Ottavia Piccolo in the cast. It played in competition at the 40th Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated for the foreign language film Oscar at the 60th Academy Awards and won six David di Donatello awards and six Silver Ribbons in Italy. Who it is for: anyone who likes Italian family portraits and stories confined to one location. Who it is not for: anyone who finds it hard to track characters. The cast is very large, the same actors play different generations, and for the first half hour keeping up with who is who is genuinely difficult.