Year: 1991
Runtime: 93 mins
Language: Italian
Director: Dino Risi
Augusto Scrivani, once a bank manager, has spent 18 years in a psychiatric institution. Upon release, he goes back to his family, confronting his estranged daughter‑in‑law Carla and the changes in his household. Directed by Dino Risi, the film features a melancholy performance by Vittorio Gassman, whose portrayal is raw and emotionally strained.
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Augusto Vittorio Gassman returns to his Rome home after eighteen years in a psychiatric clinic, now under the care of his daughter-in-law Carla Dominique Sanda. Divorced long ago, she lives there with her lover Giorgio Maurizio Fardo, his twelve-year-old daughter, and Rosa Valentina Holtkamp, Carla’s nine-year-old daughter and Augusto’s granddaughter. Augustan is a bright man who has known loneliness and bullying, and he quickly forms a quiet, healing bond with Rosa, the granddaughter he has never truly met.
Before his commitment, Augusto was the manager of a large bank. When he drops by to pay a few household bills, he is recognized and greeted with warmth by his former colleagues. His old secretary offers to drive him home, but instead invites him to her flat, cooks lunch, and then makes advances toward him, prompting Augusto to flee. Back at his house, Carla and Giorgio host a drinks party for business associates. Augusto wanders in, looking for a magazine, and bluntly insults a client of Giorgio’s, who leaves in disgust. A psychiatrist who hosts a TV show is among the guests, and she invites Augusto to appear on it, creating a new, uncertain spotlight in his life.
In the bar, just before the show goes on the air, Augusto encounters Alcide Elliott Gould, an old roommate from the clinic who now lives with a prostitute on a farmhouse outside the city. The two men disrupt the broadcast in a crude, impulsive moment that leads to the show being pulled, much to Carla and Giorgio’s distress as they watch at home.
Carnival time arrives, and Rosa’s school hosts a party in fancy dress. Augusto accompanies her to bring her home, and the pair wander the city streets, where they meet a homeless man and invite him into a bar for conversation and warmth. After a glass of red wine, Rosa falls asleep, and when Augusto carries her home, Carla erupts in a threat of re-committal.
To avoid this fate, Augusto flees to Alcide’s farmhouse, leaving his address with Rosa. A few days later, Rosa herself follows, having been threatened with boarding school and longing for the grandfather she adores. A police search for the missing man and child ensues, and they are eventually traced and returned home. Rosa is sent away to boarding school, while Augusto finds a small room of his own. Months later, when he visits Rosa, her affection for him has matured, but she has become drawn to a handsome young cousin she has met. Augusto realizes that she must grow into her own life and that he must learn to live with his own solitude.
Last updated: December 03, 2025 at 23:58
Explore frequently asked questions about I’ll Be Going Now (1991) with spoiler-rich answers covering the full plot summary, major story beats, character motivations, hidden details, and ending meaning. This movie summary FAQ helps explain confusing scenes, plot twists, and narrative decisions in clear, searchable detail.
Carla threatened recommittal after Augusto brought Rosa home drunk and fell asleep himself. This incident triggered her existing fears about Augusto's mental stability and his ability to care for a child. She had been tolerating his presence reluctantly and saw this as justification for removing him from the household entirely. The threat represented the underlying tension between her sense of responsibility and her desire to be free of the burden.
Augusto fled after Carla threatened to have him recommitted to a distant psychiatric institution. Fearing a return to the confinement he had endured for eighteen years, he chose escape over captivity. He went to the only person he knew would help him, his former roommate Alcide, who lived outside society's rules with a prostitute on a farmhouse.
The threat of recommittal had been hanging over Augusto since Carla hosted the drinks party.
Rosa was threatened with being sent to boarding school and dreaded separation from the grandfather she had grown to love. The bond they formed during carnival night and earlier encounters made her choose to flee with him rather than accept institutional control over her life. Her choice reflected both her defiance and her deep emotional need for the connection she finally had with Augusto.
The carnival night had strengthened their bond significantly, making the threat of separation unbearable for Rosa.
Augusto wandered into the party looking for a magazine and felt deeply out of place among Giorgio's business associates. His social discomfort, combined with years of institutionalization, led him to make a blunt, insulting remark that drove the client away. The moment demonstrated his inability to navigate the polite world Carla and Giorgio inhabited.
Augusto encountered his old clinic roommate Alcide in the bar before the show aired. The two men, both outsiders to normal society, acted impulsively and crudely, disrupting the broadcast. Their chaotic intervention was pulled from the air, causing embarrassment for Carla and Giorgio who were watching at home.
The invitation from the psychiatrist had already placed Augusto in an uncertain, exposed position.
Augusto's former secretary recognized him while he paid household bills and offered to drive him home. Instead, she took him to her flat, cooked lunch, and then made romantic advances toward him. Uncomfortable with the situation, Augusto fled to escape what felt like an exploitation of his vulnerable state.
Following their disappearance and return, the family decided Rosa needed structured, controlled environment away from Augusto's influence. Carla and Giorgio viewed the grandfather's presence as destabilizing and believed boarding school would provide proper discipline. The separation was the family's solution to prevent any further runaway episodes.
Carla had already threatened boarding school as a way to control Rosa's behavior.
Augusto realized his beloved granddaughter was growing up and developing her own life, including romantic feelings for a cousin. He understood that his role in her life was temporary and that she needed space to mature independently. Rather than resist the natural progression of things, he accepted his own solitude as the necessary price for her freedom.
Rosa's affection had already begun shifting toward her handsome young cousin during Augusto's visit.
As Augusto's daughter-in-law and the current owner of his former home, Carla felt a moral obligation to care for him after his eighteen-year institutionalization. The house technically belonged to Augusto, giving him legal right to return. However, her willingness was strained from the start, as evidenced by her quick anger and threats of recommittal.
Rosa was the granddaughter Augusto had never truly met, she had grown up during his eighteen years in the clinic. Their connection was immediate because they shared a deep need: Rosa craved genuine attention from an adult who wasn't busy with adult concerns, and Augusto desperately needed someone who accepted him without judgment. They found healing in each other's company.
The summary explicitly notes Augusto quickly forms a quiet, healing bond with Rosa.
When a confused elderly man and a young child disappeared together without explanation, authorities treated it as a potential crisis. The family reported them missing, and standard protocol required a search. They were eventually traced to Alcide's farmhouse, a location outside normal social networks, which explained why they couldn't be found quickly.
Augusto had fled specifically to escape the threat of institutionalization.
The carnival night represented the peak of Augusto and Rosa's relationship, they wandered the city together, helped a homeless man, and shared an intimate evening. It was also the catalyst for everything that followed: Rosa falling asleep drunk gave Carla the justification she needed to threaten recommittal, which directly caused Augusto's flight. The happy memory became the foundation of their forced separation.
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Quiet stories of fragile characters rebuilding their lives after profound personal disruption.If you liked the gentle, melancholic journey in I’ll Be Going Now, explore movies about characters reintegrating after trauma. These films share a quiet, observational tone, focusing on the slow process of rebuilding connections and finding a new place in the world after a life-altering event.
Stories in this thread typically follow a character emerging from a period of isolation, incarceration, or illness. The central conflict is internal and social, revolving around navigating a changed world and reconnecting with estranged loved ones, often through small, everyday moments rather than grand dramatic events.
Movies are grouped here for their shared focus on the emotional journey of starting over. They resonate through their melancholic tone, slow pacing, and emphasis on character-driven stories about loneliness, acceptance, and the bittersweet nature of healing.
Tender yet heartbreaking stories of temporary bonds formed across generations.Fans of the grandfather-granddaughter relationship in I’ll Be Going Now will appreciate these films. Discover similar movies about fragile, intergenerational bonds that offer moments of profound connection against a backdrop of loneliness and the inevitability of change.
The narrative pattern involves an unlikely, meaningful connection forming between an elderly figure and a younger person, often within a fractured family. This bond provides solace and understanding for both, but the story ultimately acknowledges the transitory nature of the connection, ending on a note of quiet acceptance rather than permanent resolution.
These films are united by their exploration of the unique solace found in cross-generational relationships. They share a bittersweet emotional core, a gentle pacing, and a focus on the beauty and sadness inherent in temporary connections that shape us profoundly.
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Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape I’ll Be Going Now. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning - ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.
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