Genre: Drama

Language: Italian with English Subtitles

Director: Giorgio Diritti

Cast: Thierry Toscan, Alessandra Agosti, Dario Anghilante, Giovanni Foresti

Released: 2007

Duration: 120 Minutes

Rating: Rating M contains adult themes

Distribution: Intramovies

2008 David Di Donatello: 5 nominations including Best Film, Best New Director and Best Screenplay

A small mountain village in the Occitaine Alps is gradually dying, its income and the livelihood of its ageing population only maintained by the short summer tourist season. Into this small, tight knit and conservative community comes a former French professor determined to escape the wrongs of civilization, bringing his young wife and their three children, his goats and his entrepreneurial skills as cheese-maker.

While at first the villagers are suspicious of the newcomer’s unconventional ideas and lifestyle, they are eventually won-over by the enthusiasm, kindness, and helpfulness of the young family and start to see in them a possible rebirth of the village. But the idyll turns sour as misunderstandings multiply and the villagers begin to resent the intrusion that this foreign family and their business cause to their ‘oh so quiet’ lives.

This powerful film makes us consider contemporary immigration issues by raising some disturbing fundamental questions about human nature: what happens when we feel threatened about our own reluctance to act, our uneasiness with change, and our envy for those who take risks and succeed? Through its incisive visuals this film says a lot about Italian insularity while conveying a universal message.