Glassboy (2020)

Pino is a little boy from Astralaguna who never leaves the house. Every day, he spends his time at the window watching what happens in the main square, where the Snerds—a close-knit group of friends made up of Mavi, Mei Ming, Domenico, and Ciccio—often race their bicycles. Gianni and his cronies frequently mock and bully the Snerds. After Mavi, the group’s leader, notices him, she sneaks into the villa and suggests that he join them. But it is not easy for Pino: his grandmother worries about him and has even hired a private tutor so that her grandson will have no contact with the outside world. At last, Pino finds the courage to go outside and helps Mavi win a race against Gianni. Afterward, Pino’s mother asks the Snerds if they would like to come to his house for a snack. The group agrees, but after they eat, the Glass Boy’s nose starts bleeding. Pino feels lonely and abandoned again, thinking that perhaps his grandmother might be right. Despite the incident, his friends return to Pino’s house the next day, and he begins to let them get to know him and to learn more about them, especially Mavi. The girl stays with Pino until late at night, and her father gets angry with her because she should not have left the house. Mavi is grounded for what happened and cannot get in touch with Pino. Meanwhile, Pino discovers that his grandmother Helena wants to take him to Stockholm to treat his form of hemophilia. In a rebellious impulse, the Glass Boy runs away from home and heads to the sea, where he runs into the bullies, who intend to teach him a lesson. But before their leader can lay a finger on him, Pino faints. The bullies propose a temporary truce, while the young protagonist is once again forced to stay shut up at home. Realizing how her son feels, Elisa decides with his father to try sending him to school. There, he is finally happy and is given an Snerd bracelet, officially joining the group. The news reports that Pino has disappeared without a trace. His mother is worried about him, and his grandmother offers a reward to anyone who can find him. In fact, it is Helena herself who has hidden Pino. She has already booked a private plane to Stockholm and asked Fidenzio to help ensure that her son does not fall behind in his studies. Mavi and the rest of the group are distraught and determined to find him, until Gianni and his two friends catch up with them. One of them reveals the secret: Pino’s grandmother has chartered a private plane for herself, her grandson, and Fidenzio, departing from Vienna. Mei then persuades the rest of the group to make the long train journey from Italy to Austria. Meanwhile, Pino discovers why his grandmother has always been afraid for him: Elisa’s father, who was also ill, had refused treatment because he preferred to enjoy life, and later died. This left Helena with a sense of guilt that made her excessively protective of her grandson. After finding Elisa’s family castle in Vienna, the Snerds sneak inside and manage to evade Fidenzio. In the course of their escape, Mei kisses Ciccio; then they reach their friend and flee the castle. Fidenzio chases after them by car, but the children pull off a clever trick, and his car is inundated with straw. The group is at the station waiting for the train when Fidenzio arrives and takes Mei hostage, telling Pino to get back in the car with him. Suddenly, however, the grandmother joins them and tells Fidenzio to let the girl go, because she has finally understood that she must let her grandson live the life he wants. The grandmother suddenly faints, and Domenico calls an ambulance while Mei tries to help her. The children’s parents arrive along with the ambulance. Elisa reconciles with her mother, and Fidenzio’s car is confiscated. Some time later, Mei reads the Snerds the comic Pino wrote about the group’s adventures and congratulates him, saying she finds the story moving. Ciccio asks what happened to Fidenzio, and Pino tells him he got off lightly, ending up reduced to teaching at an adult education institute. The film ends with the children playing and splashing water on one another.