La Tenerezza (Tenderness)

Stubbornness and pride abound in Gianni Amelio's La Tenerezza, as a widower takes a shine to a family next door, while continuing to neglect his own middle-aged offspring, who shamelessly covet their litigious inheritance.

His extramarital appetites produced profound resentment in his young, and his unwillingness to accept responsibility have fostered distraught enmities.

The young family is energetic and full of life, curiosity boundlessly blooming as mother and little ones inspect undiscovered surroundings.

Lorenzo (Renato Carpentieri) finds himself offering fatherly advice and even develops kind friendships with both partners, sharing observations grumpily withheld from daughter and son with his unknown endearing impulsive new neighbours.

Something's not quite right though, Fabio (Elio Germano) often sharing awkward sad thoughts to which Lorenzo responds with empathy.

And as the joy from Amélie is pathologically reconceptualized, La Tenerezza admonishes adventurous spirits, the ramifications of settling with mindsets unsound, obtusely effecting tenants newfound, while those grown accustomed to habitual means, pay full price for taxing soirées indiscreet.

Redemption is sought however misplaced temperate reckonings bearing choice succulent fruits.

The film rhetorically narrativizes clashes between longstanding and recently confirmed residents to examine belonging and community from less romantic social ordeals.

Tenderness breaks through but as a cold heart convalesces psychological precedents confound poised rebirths.

Depicting a less cheerful array of realistic sentiments, losses disparaged erupt with molten inadmissibility.

Its mistrust of male refugees isn't counterbalanced by dependable claimants, even if said mistrust is ostensibly the byproduct of Lorenzo's infidelities, childhood trauma effecting his daughter Elena's (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) professional and personal lives, her inability to trust men perhaps resulting in cynical isolation.

Xenophobia's still xenophobia even when it's intellectually contextualized.

Leaving audiences to sift through clues presented to clarify semantic stresses may ambiguously impress, but effects still hauntingly linger long after characters heal from hard fought lessons.