I really need to talk about Ciao Alberto for a moment.
I've seen a lot of people talking about the importance of the meaning behind it, but there are some things I haven't heard said that I just need to bring to light.
Namely, Massimo's silence and Trauma.
Massimo is a father before Ciao Alberto even began. He has a daughter who stays with him between her schooling. A daughter who has known her father since she was born, 12 years ago. A daughter who, based on the movie itself, is very, very, very aware that her father is a silent man.
In fact, when she first brings the boys over, he barely speaks to her until he absolutely needs to.
He's a man of little voice, talking only when he feels his words will hold weight, understanding that his actions speak for him.
And so at the beginning of the short, when Alberto says "am I fired?" after first stepping into the boat alone, Massimo says nothing. He doesn't feel like he needs to.
His actions, he feels, have spoken for him.
You're in my house. I've kept you here. I love you. You're my son.
He feels as if he's said enough.
Giulia hears what's unsaid.
And that's where this short excelled. Because Massimo, being a wonderful (albeit quiet) father, raised a well rounded daughter.
He's never had experience with a child who was hurt in ways that he couldn't see.
When Alberto finally breaks and calls him "dad", it isn't Massimo realizing that this boy feels that way about him, it's him realizing;
He didn't know he was my son. He didn't know how I felt. He didn't know what he meant to me.
He never had to say that to Giulia. But Alberto can't hear him like that. He was abandoned without notice. Nothing was said to him to give him any indication that he was wanted, and so he always assumes that he isn't.
And so Massimo pauses and does something he rarely does.
"I once made my father so angry, he punched a hole through a brick wall."
Alberto looks up at him, breathless. And you can see the ideas forming behind his eyes when he asks "and then what happened?" Wondering; did he hate you? Did he leave you? Did you make one too many mistakes and finally prove just how unlovable you are?
"Well," says Massimo, "we fixed it."
The best line in the short.
You can make any mistake, you can mess up, you can make me angry, but it won't change how I feel about you.
Nothing Alberto does will change the fact that he is Massimo's son.
Anything broken can be fixed, but Alberto and the love he receives is not one of those broken things. Not anymore.
This was such a hugely important because it shows two people adjusting. Massimo needs to learn how to speak, because this new son of his can't hear as clearly the silence that Giulia understand, and Alberto needs to learn that love, real love, is unconditional, and that he's not some broken thing to be collected in a tower. He's a part of a puzzle where he finally, finally, fits.
