"Francesco Costabile's 'Familia' will represent Italy at the Oscars

Of the twenty-four films in the running we would also have liked to see 'Berlinguer. La grande ambizione' by Andrea Segre, without forgetting Pietro Marcello's 'Duse', but this year there was no real favourite (perhaps it was Martone's 'Fuori' that we would have expected) and 'Familia' thus managed to stand out among the favourites.

It should also be noted that Paolo Sorrentino's powerful 'La grazia' could not participate in this selection because it will only be released in our cinemas in January next year.

After his good debut with 'Una femmina' in 2022, Francesco Costabile - a director and screenwriter born in Cosenza in 1980 - chose to take his cue from the true story of Luigi Celeste and his book 'It won't always be like this' to stage 'Familia' and talk about how domestic tensions can lead to real tragedies.

Luigi's character in the film is 20 years old and lives with his mother Licia and brother Alessandro. The three are united by a deep bond. It has been almost ten years since any of them has seen Franco, their partner and father, who has made the two boys' childhood a terrifying memory. One day, however, Franco returns, managing to convince his (former?) family to take him back.

Opening with an incipit that recounts the childhood of the protagonist and his brother, "Familia" is a film that begins from the very first minutes to play with light and shadow, already showing how darkness is a fundamental element of the entire work: not only on a photographic level, but also in relation to the darker aspects of the human soul that are analysed within a narrative that crosses various genres. The family melodrama often gives way to a psychological thriller that also leads to violence, with some sequences so disturbing as to make it seem like a sort of domestic horror film in its own right.

Undoubtedly, it is a strong work with a good rhythm, although it does suffer from a few passages that are too forced from a stylistic and dramaturgical point of view, which partly limit involvement. Remarkable in any case is the work of the cast, consisting among others of the young Francesco Gheghi and the always excellent Francesco Di Leva and Barbara Ronchi.

Going on the road to the Oscars will by no means be easy, but this nomination will certainly bring more attention to a film that can raise a lot of awareness about domestic violence and other relevant issues that it is always important to talk about and reflect on.