Name: The Price of Family
Director: Giovanni Bognetti
Released: 2023-01-25T13:30:00

The Price of Family is a family comedy about two elderly parents who deeply miss their children and come up with a lie to get them to visit more often. The film is streaming on Netflix.

Story

Emilio and Alessandra are moving out of their home and their parents, Carlo and Anna are sad to see them go. The children are expected to make visits occasionally to soften the blow but they barely show up for the next two years.

When Alessandra and Emilio announce that they won’t be spending Christmas with their parents, Carlo and Anna are devastated and pushed to come up with a sneaky plan.

They lie to their children that they received 6 million as an inheritance from a deceased family member and watch as their son and daughter come back into their lives expecting a share of the money.

Carlo and Anna try to maintain the pretense that they’re rich while Emilio and Alessandra do their best to win over their parents but the lie begins to snowball until it gets too big to contain.

Performances

Christian De Sica and Angela Finocchiaro play the loving yet clingy parents with an authenticity that will not feel out of place in any home. Watching them start a ruse and run with it until it gets out of hand is extremely delightful.

Dharma Mangia Woods and Claudio Colica play Alessandra and Emilio respectively, the ungrateful and greedy children who eventually realize the error of their ways. Woods and Colica are similarly genuine in their performances

There are a couple of supporting cast members such as Fioretta Mar and Alessandro Bett who add their own bit of entertainment to the film.

Positives

The family dynamic is captured perfectly in the film and is bound to relate to a large chunk of the audience watching. The beauty is in the simplicity of the narrative and how it could very well happen to any regular family.

The film isn’t overly long or tedious. With a crisp 90-minute run time, it makes for a comfortable hassle-free experience.

The director has done a splendid job of guiding his cast and in turn, produced a truly wonderful film filled with warmth and enjoyment.

Negatives

While the ending is certainly pleasing, it isn’t as impactful as one would have hoped. The children do not go through serious obstacles to learn their lessons which means the film ends on a flatter note.

Verdict

The Price of Family is a heartwarming film that the entire family can sit down and enjoy. The story is grounded in reality and might even encourage a viewer or two to get in touch with their parents or children with its affectionate message.