''Everybody's Fine'' ( it, Stanno tutti bene) is a 1990 Italian drama film directed by

Giuseppe Tornatore Giuseppe Tornatore (born 27 May 1956) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the directors who brought critical acclaim back to Italian cinema.Katz, Ephraim, "Italy," ''The Film Encyclopedia'' (New York: HarperR ...

who co-wrote the screenplay with

Tonino Guerra Antonio "Tonino" Guerra (16 March 1920 – 21 March 2012) was an Italian poet, writer and screenwriter who collaborated with some of the most prominent film directors in the world. Life and work Guerra was born in Santarcangelo di Romagna. Acc ...

and

Massimo De Rita Massimo, also Massimino, and Massimine () is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Massimo Agostinelli (Max Agos) (born 1987), Swiss based Italian American artist, entrepreneur and activist *Massimo Ago ...

. It won the

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (french: Prix du Jury Œcuménique) is an independent film award for feature length films shown at major international film festivals since 1973. The award was created by Christian film makers, film critics and ot ...

(Giuseppe Tornatore) and was nominated for

Golden Palm The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

(Giuseppe Tornatore) at the

1990 Cannes Film Festival The 43rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 May 1990. The Palme d'Or went to '' Wild at Heart'' by David Lynch. The festival opened with '' Dreams'', directed by Akira Kurosawa and closed with ''The Comfort of Strangers'', directed by P ...

. It also won the

David di Donatello Awards The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's '' David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the '' Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award ...

for David Best Music (

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classic ...

) and the

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italian ...

for Silver Ribbon Best Original Story (Giuseppe Tornatore). The film was remade in 2009 as '' Everybody's Fine'' with an American setting and starring

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

, and again in 2016 in China also as '' Everybody's Fine'' in 2016.

Plot

Matteo Scuro, a retired

Sicilian Sicilian refers to the autonomous Italian island of Sicily. Sicilian can also refer to: * Sicilian language, a Romance language spoken on the island of Sicily, its satellite islands, and southern Calabria * Sicilians, people from or with origins ...

bureaucrat and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

buff, has been stood up by his five adult children during the summer vacation, all of whom live in various cities on the Italian mainland with what he believes are responsible jobs. Despite their not visiting and the neighbours' criticisms, he remains optimistic, considering that his children could not come because they are too busy. His children are named after popular opera characters, Tosca for Puccini's

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language dr ...

, Canio for Leoncavallo's

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who ...

, Norma for Bellini's

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy * Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Laz ...

, Guglielmo for Rossini's Guglielmo Tell and Alvaro for Verdi's

La forza del destino ' (; ''The Power of Fate'', often translated ''The Force of Destiny'') is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, ' (1835), by Ángel de Saavedra, 3rd Duke of Rivas, ...

. He decides to surprise each of them with a visit, traveling by train, and finds none of them as he imagined, with each of his children seeming to reflect the opera character after whom they were named. Matteo's train journeys take him to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

and

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. Th ...

to search for each of his children; he even spends one night on the streets among the homeless. Before his arrival at each of their homes, each of his grown children scramble to put on a façade to cover up their personal failings: One daughter's ex-husband temporarily moves back in with her and their child. A son who lost his University professorship temporarily moves back into his old office. Another daughter hides the fact that she works as a lingerie model, etc. Finally, after visiting all his children, Scuro returns to Sicily, visits his wife's grave, and reports to her with irony that their children are all fine.

Main characters

* Marcello Mastroianni: Matteo Scuro *

Michèle Morgan Michèle Morgan (; née Simone Renée Roussel; 29 February 1920 – 20 December 2016) was a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades in both French cinema and Hollywood features. She is considered to have been one of the g ...

: Woman in train *

Valeria Cavalli Valeria Cavalli (born 1 November 1959) is an Italian actress and model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via ...

: Tosca * Marino Cenna: Canio *

Norma Martelli Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Astronomy * Norma (constellation) *555 Norma, a minor asteroid *Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral arm in the Milky Way galaxy Geography *Norma, Laz ...

: Norma *

Roberto Nobile Roberto Nobile (11 November 1947 – 30 July 2022) was an Italian actor. Selected filmography References External links * 1947 births 2022 deaths Italian male film actors Actors from Verona Italian male television actors 20t ...

: Guglielmo *

Salvatore Cascio Salvatore Cascio (born 8 November 1979) is an Italian actor. His most famous performance was in '' Cinema Paradiso'' (1988), for which he received critical acclaim and a BAFTA Award. He suffers from retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa ...

: Alvaro enfant

References

External links

* * * * * {{Giuseppe Tornatore 1990 films 1990 drama films Films directed by Giuseppe Tornatore Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films about old age French drama films Italian drama films 1990s Italian-language films 1990s French films