Movies made outside of Hollywood have so much more to offer. They include real people, real problems, and real endings that are not always happy. This idea could not be more supported by the movie "The Son's Room". It is an Italian sub-titled movie about a family who loses their son, in an unexpected diving accident.

I must admit when the movie began I was quite cynical about actually enjoying it. I didn't understand their humour, and I had a very different idea of what is polite and what is not. But I was intrigued by the relationships within the family and just how close they were. For example, the daughter openly talked about her relationship with her at-the-time boyfriend, and the father was so understanding. Also, when the family found out Andrea had a girlfriend, they did not ignore it, and claim it was just some silly teenage liking, they contacted the girl and insisted on meeting her. The parents were so open with the idea of love in their kids' lives. I found this different from what I have experienced in western movies, where the father is always protecting his little girl, and the boy is always referred to as mommy's boy.

Watching how the family lived with their grief, how they honoured Andrea's memory after death, and how open they were to meet Arianna, because she was important to Andrea, made me realize no matter who you are, where you live, or how old you are, pain is pain, and although it was a different language, without the subtitles I would have been able to understand the intensity of their pain.

At first I found it difficult to pay attention, because if you turned your head just once, you could miss an important part of the movie. But as I became more interested in the characters I was glued to the screen. I was so engrossed with the family, I almost forgot it was just a movie. The actors did such a great job, that they made you get lost in the movie, and believe it was real. I enjoyed the style of this movie so much that I already have plans to watch another subtitled movie, and if it offers half as much as this movie did I may never spend money on an American movie again.