Another film about disability. Another disabled young man who becomes an actor. Millions of people confronted once more with suffering, love, and the joy that a disabled child brings.
The renowned director Gianni Amelio is presenting "The Keys to the House" at the Venice Film Festival. It tells the story of a young father, played by Kim Rossi Stuart, who meets and "discovers" his fifteen-year-old disabled son—a child he rejected at birth. The film draws freely on Giuseppe Pontiggia's celebrated novel Born Twice. Pontiggia, who died a year ago, gave Amelio his blessing for the adaptation.
The film has not yet been released, but we await it with hope for several reasons. Amelio has a proven gift for telling difficult stories with sensitivity and depth—his most famous work, Stolen Children, is enough to prove it. Kim Rossi Stuart, refusing the easy role of a charming young leading man, showed his range in Without Skin, where he played a mentally ill teenager with such power that we wept at the weight of his suffering, his unrequited love. The disabled boy in this new film, Andrea Rossi, needs only a glance at the stills to reveal his gift: his expression intense and shifting, capable of dissolving his father's fear and winning his love.
We hope it will be a beautiful film—above all, a film that moves us not just to tears, but to reflection and understanding, one that teaches us to love. To Andrea in particular, we say thank you. With his talent, he has given voice and face to so many friends like him, who know the weight of living.