Quasi orfano (2022)

Valentino Rocco lives in Milan with his wife, Costanza. He is a successful man: he founded his own design brand and runs his father-in-law Sergio’s company. Sergio, however, wants to sell the business to a French buyer. Valentino’s real surname is “Tarocco.” He comes from Puglia and has completely distanced himself from his parents, ashamed of his humble origins. His father, Vito, gave up a singing career to take care of his family and now runs an unsuccessful masseria in Monopoli. He acts as if Valentino does not even exist, having been deeply offended that his son rejected his surname and left. Due to a misunderstanding, Valentino’s secretary sends his family an invitation to a reception at a museum. Valentino’s mother, Addolorata, mistakenly thinks it is a party for her birthday and travels to Milan with her son Nicola, as well as Nicola’s wife and daughter, Lulu and Mara. Once they arrive in Milan, Valentino’s relatives embarrass him at the museum reception. Costanza and Valentino put them up in their luxurious apartment. Being close to his family prompts Valentino to reconsider his life, after having turned his back on his parents and brother, and to reflect on the fact that his marriage to Costanza has become unhappy. After an argument with Sergio, Valentino is hit by a speeding car. Hospitalized, he wakes up after spending some time in a medically induced coma, but his mind has regressed to the age of 20, and he remembers neither Costanza nor his life in Milan. He returns to his old southern Italian ways and starts speaking the Puglian dialect again. At first, Costanza finds her husband’s change and the Taroccos’ presence annoying, but over time she is charmed by their simple way of life and appreciates that Valentino has become more understanding and passionate. Valentino gradually regains his memory and grows closer to Costanza, with whom, for the first time, he considers the possibility of having a child—a possibility they had never considered because Valentino had always put his career before family. Meanwhile, Sergio has fallen into debt with loan sharks, which is why he is pushing so hard to sell the company. But he no longer has the support of his son-in-law, who does not want the employees to lose their jobs. Suddenly, Valentino remembers that it was Sergio himself who hit him after their argument, when Valentino was opposing the sale of the company. Sergio humiliates him and tells him that Costanza wanted to leave him. Valentino finds confirmation of this when he sees the divorce papers his wife had prepared. Devastated by everything that has happened, Valentino leaves Milan to return to live in Monopoli. In reality, Costanza did not want to divorce her husband; she only wanted to provoke him, hoping he would make an effort to save their marriage. At last, Vito and Valentino reconcile. Addolorata, Nicola, Lulu, and Mara then join them, along with Costanza, who does not want to give up on her husband. After overcoming their initial misunderstandings, Costanza decides to stay in Puglia because she feels that the Taroccos, with their simplicity and sincerity, are her family. Valentino forgives her, especially when she surprises him with unexpected news: she is pregnant. Sergio is arrested for fraudulent bankruptcy, while the Taroccos run their masseria successfully this time, like a truly united family.