The Price of Family 2022

After twenty-five years, the Delle Fave family splits up: the children, Alessandra Delle Fave and Emilio Delle Fave, leave their small town for the city, leaving their parents, Carlo Delle Fave and Anna Delle Fave, behind. The move marks a widening gulf as the kids throw themselves into new urban lives, and contact with their homeland grows scarce. They don’t even attend old Aunt Tea’s funeral, and Alessandra misses a birthday celebration at the family home, setting a chilly tone for what follows.

The parents try to bridge the gap with bold, almost desperate visits to the city, only to be met with cool reception from their children, who bluntly tell them they won’t be coming home for Christmas. Frustration grows on both sides, and the rift deepens into a strain of pride and stubbornness that threatens the family’s unity.

Annoyed and frustrated by their attitude, Carlo and Anna decide to cobble back some semblance of connection by fabricating a far-fetched inheritance. They pretend to have inherited six million euros from Aunt Tea, hoping the news will lure their children back. The ruse works only long enough for the illusion of wealth to do its job, as the children start reconnecting with their parents and accepting lavish gifts, drawn by the appearance of financial security they had not expected to see. Yet behind the glossy presents lies a fragile truth: the couple’s bank account is dangerously close to bankruptcy, and the deception could unravel at any moment.

On a turning point, Carlo returns to Emilio to tell the truth, while Anna does the same with Alessandra. Their intentions are muddled by sentiment, and in the end Carlo finds himself promising Emilio a substantial sum of money to help him get back on his feet and consider a different line of work. At the same time, Anna brings her daughter back home after Alessandra’s partner, Rocco, leaves, a development that stirs more questions about the family’s stability and loyalties. Alessandra asks for funding to launch her own business, and the parents reluctantly agree, trying to salvage something of their previously shared dreams for their children.

All the while, Anna and Carlo face a harsher reality: without real financial support from their bank, they stage a larger deception. Anna lies that Carlo suffers from a rare disease requiring expensive treatment, a narrative that involves costly trips and private facilities across Europe and the United States. The children, recognizing the strain in their parents’ stories, choose to renounce their inheritance shares in solidarity, opting to stay close to their father during his supposed treatment.

The deception reaches a peak when the parents pretend to depart for Paris for a critical medical appointment, communicated through a video call. Yet Emilio uncovers the lie, finding them still at home and exposed. The truth fractures the fragile truce that had formed, and the bond with their children shatters further as distrust settles in. Grief and anger push the family toward their grandmother for comfort; the wise and steady presence of Giuliana offers a moment of reflection and a chance for the two younger people to reassess their own selfish attitudes.

In a quiet, unspoken turn, the family discovers that Giuliana had indeed inherited a substantial sum from Aunt Tea, money that had remained hidden from everyone for years. This revelation, paired with the grandmother’s measured guidance, helps the family reframe what truly matters. The story closes on a note of reconciliation, with the Delle Fave family slowly rebuilding trust and choosing to face the future together, rather than through hollow schemes or hollow promises.