Tenderness 2018

Lorenzo, an aging retired lawyer who has just suffered a heart attack, withdraws from his children, Elena and Saverio, while in hospital, with no real relationship to them. The only relative who shows him warmth is Francesco, the son Elena had while studying in Egypt to become an interpreter. When he returns home, he befriends the new neighbor Michela, who moved in with her husband Fabio and their two children to the apartment next door during his absence.

He grows fond of this northern family, especially Michela, who invites him to smile more and becomes a comforting presence in his solitary life. Very soon, Lorenzo learns that Fabio, a neurotic engineer, struggles to bond with his own children in the same way he feels unable to connect with his. One Sunday, while speaking with Michela, Lorenzo confesses that as a father he once loved his children, but as they grew up he became detached. Michela wonders aloud that this detachment could be a psychological shield to spare himself the pain of seeing them suffer. In that moment, he leaves the house.

That evening, upon his return, he discovers a horrific truth: Fabio has carried out a massacre of his children and then taken his own life. The sole survivor is Michela, who lies dying in the hospital. Lorenzo begins to visit her daily, posing as her father. During this period he also encounters Aurora, Fabio’s mother, a paranoid figure unable to sustain relationships since her own childhood, and he revisits his old lover Rossana, whose current life choices appear to have contributed to the unraveling of Lorenzo’s marriage.

The bitter revelation follows: Lorenzo is not Michela’s father, and a restraining order is issued against him. It emerges that, across his professional life, he won many cases but repeatedly cheated the state by aiding false invalids or engaging in scams. As Michela dies, Lorenzo leaves his home, a departure that unsettles his daughter Elena, who, despite his silence, has always worried about him. A few days later, he attends a court session where Elena works as an interpreter. When the session ends, she finds her father on a bench outside the court; she sits beside him, and, without a word, he offers a quiet, shared gesture by shaking her hand.