Familia was selected as Italy’s official Oscar submission for Best International Feature, which made me very curious to see it. I always have high expectations from Italian cinema because it is usually full of honest feelings and real human warmth. But this film did not move me at all. It felt distant, slow and emotionally cold, even though the story itself could have been very powerful.
The film tells the story of a young man who once joined an extremist group. His life changes when his abusive father suddenly returns home after being gone for ten years. The son is still carrying anger and fear from his childhood, and his father’s return poisons everything again. The film tries to explore violence, guilt and the damage that families can cause, but it never finds the right rhythm to make me care.
Francesco Costabile, the director, clearly wanted to make something serious and thoughtful. You can feel that he is trying to show how pain can pass from one generation to the next. But the story is told in such a slow and quiet way that it loses emotion instead of building it. Every scene feels heavy and controlled, like the actors are trapped inside a cold atmosphere where nothing truly happens.
Francesco Di Leva gives a strong performance. He is always intense and believable, but even he cannot escape how stiff the film feels. The characters are written with good intentions, but they do not grow or change much. We watch them suffer, but we never understand them. By the second half, I felt disconnected, just waiting for something to finally break open.
Visually, the film looks beautiful and the tone matches the sadness of the story. What disappointed me most is how emotionless it all felt. Italian films usually have this special energy, even in silence, you feel the life beating under the surface. Here, everything is so still that it becomes tiring. It is a film that looks like a deep drama but never touches your heart.
Familia had a great idea and good actors, but the execution left me cold. It is not a bad film, just a lifeless one. It wants to say something big about fathers and sons, about guilt and forgiveness, but it ends up stuck in its own darkness.
I love Italian cinema, and maybe that is why I felt extra disappointed. I expected something real, human, and alive. Instead, I got something that looks important but feels empty.