Natale in Casa Cupiello (2020)

As every year, Luca Cupiello devotes himself meticulously and obsessively to building the Nativity scene. His enthusiasm is shared neither by his wife Concetta, nor by his brother Pasqualino, nor by his indolent son Tommasino, who always answers no whenever his father asks whether he likes the Nativity scene. Their daughter Ninuccia arrives at the house. She is married to Nicola Percuoco, a wealthy businessman. Though she has never loved her husband, she shows her mother a letter in which she tells Nicola that she intends to leave him and run away with her lover, Vittorio Elia, who is also a friend of Tommasino. Ninuccia promises Concetta that she will try to make peace with her husband, but she loses the letter when, in a fit of nerves, she also ends up hitting the Nativity scene. Luca finds the letter, however, and, unaware of its contents, hands it to Nicola. Tommasino invites Vittorio to Christmas Eve dinner. Concetta asks the young man to leave at once, but Luca, still unaware of the situation, insists that he stay for dinner. Nicola catches Vittorio and Ninuccia in a tender moment and forces them to leave the house, not before accusing his mother-in-law of having helped them betray him. Concetta is therefore left alone in the dining room until Luca, Pasqualino, and Tommasino enter dressed as the Three Wise Men, carrying Christmas presents for her. When Luca discovers what has happened, his illusion that he has created a happy family falls apart, and he suffers a stroke. The shock is so severe that he is confined to bed and begins having hallucinations. The neighbors also come to his bedside. At first, the doctor who examines Luca says he might recover, but later admits to Pasqualino that, short of a miracle, his brother will not make it. Vittorio feels deeply guilty and wants to ask Luca for forgiveness. Luca, however, mistakes him for Nicola and, believing that his son-in-law and Ninuccia might reconcile, unknowingly blesses their relationship. Just then, Nicola returns from a trip to Rome to visit some relatives and tries unsuccessfully to intervene. Finally, Luca asks Tommasino once again whether he likes the Nativity scene, and his son, who now has a new outlook on life, finally answers yes.