Toscana is a film about a Danish man who travels back to his childhood home to sell it but ends up finding out that there’s more to life. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
Theo Dahl (Anders Matthesen), a very famous chef, wants to start his own restaurant in Denmark. He is seen micromanaging his team of chefs and following stringent rules while cooking.
However, to open and keep the restaurant running, Theo needs funds. He schedules a meeting with an investor, but right before the meeting, he gets a postcard that informs him that his estranged father has passed away, making him the sole heir of his property called Ristonchi in Tuscany.
The investor arrives at the restaurant, but Theo gets in a fight with him, and the investor angrily leaves the restaurant. Theo is distraught and thrashes the kitchen.
He goes to meet his mother and informs her about the news about his father. His mother informs him that he has grown up to be an irate person, and he gets into a verbal disagreement with her.
He goes back to the restaurant and starts cleaning his mess. Merle (Lærke Winther), the server and receptionist, meets him there and informs him that the investor has canceled the deal. She convinces him to go to Tuscany and sell Ristonchi so that they can invest that money in the building of their restaurant.
In Tuscany, Theo stops to eat food at Ristonchi’s restaurant but he looks very disgruntled by how things are being run there. He gets in a fight with his server Sophia (Cristiana Dell’Anna) over water. He doesn’t like how the food has been made and leaves without eating.
He goes to meet with Pino (Andrea Bosca), his father’s lawyer and informs him about his intention to sell the property. He asks Pino to find real state agents who might be interested in buying it and get the paperwork done.
Later that night, Theo goes to Ristonchi’s kitchen to make something to eat and is shocked after seeing the messy condition. He cleans the area and goes out to sit on a bench.
Sophia approaches him with wine. They talk for a while, but Theo quickly leaves after Sophia tries telling him not to sell the place as it has too much potential.
The next morning, he sees Ignes cooking food for a wedding that going to take place in Ristonchi. He insults the food and calls it shit. Sophia interjects and tells him that is the only thing they can afford, but Theo sticks to his argument. It is later revealed that it is Sophia’s wedding.
While hunting with Ignes, Theo learns more about Sophia. Ignes tells him that she has practically grown here and has spent all of her money to keep Risotnchi running. This is when Theo learns that Sophia is getting married to Pino. He is very shocked and upset by it.
Later, Sophia and Theo go shopping together and have a good time. After returning, Sophia shows her childhood bedroom to Theo. A photograph of two hands catches his eyes.
Sophia then reveals that it is their childhood photo. Sophia and Theo spent a summer together before his parents separated and he had to move to Denmark.
If you have any doubts about the ending, here’s a complete breakdown.
Toscana ending explained in detail:
The wedding preparation
During one of the wedding functions, Pino introduces Theo to Lucca, a person who might be interested in buying the property. After some negotiation, Theo makes a deal with Lucca and tells him that he’ll cater the wedding to show him what can be done with the place. And if he likes it, he has to buy the property for $900,000.
Theo leaves the function and goes to the kitchen. Sophia finds him there and shows him his father’s recipe books. The recipe books have newspaper cutouts of articles about Theo. He looks very emotional.
Sophia convinces him to cook a dish with her. Theo tries to be very precise with the recipe, but Sophia asks him to loosen up. She tells him to cook food with heart and not measurements.
He convinces her to let him make food for her wedding. He calls his team to Tuscany. Everyone is having a joyous time while cooking, with Theo not micromanaging them.
The wedding blues
Theo and Sophia go to throw the trash together. They start talking about the wedding, and Theo kisses her. After a while, Sophia reciprocates the kiss.
It’s the wedding day. Theo goes to meet Sophia, but the two get in a verbal fight. She confronts him about catering the wedding for selling the property and not for her. Theo calls her a coward, and she slaps him. Theo angrily storms out of there.
The wedding commences. Sophia is very reluctant to say her vows, but when Pino calls her, she says them. She is now married, and Theo is not happy about it.
Theo tries to busy himself in the kitchen but Pino convinces him to be part of the celebration. He starts drinking very heavily and calls everyone to make a speech.
He talks about how his absent father and applauds everyone for having a good relationship with him and ends his speech by calling Sophia a rude person. Everyone looks uncomfortable, and there’s an awkward silence.
Change of plans
Theo leaves the wedding. He goes swimming while being heavily intoxicated and ends up drowning. Ignes manages to save him.
The following day, he wakes up and breaks his father’s statue. He returns to Denmark. There’s a noticeable change in his attitude.
He is now giving space to his chefs for creativity and is not controlling them. He has a conversation with his mother, who tells him to stop blaming his father for everything. Somewhere, his mother was equally at fault for the failed marriage.
Meanwhile, Merle is finalizing the design for the restaurant when Theo declares that he does not want to make this restaurant. He goes back to Tuscany and convinces Lucca to become an investor instead of buying the property.
He meets Pino, who is very hostile towards Theo and punches him. The two get in a fight and Pino tells him that Sophia ended the marriage.
Theo ends up making some minor changes in Ristonchi and reopens the restaurant. The film ends with Sophia visiting the restaurant and asking Theo if she can stay there for a while. Theo agrees, hinting toward a romantic relationship between the two in the future.