Tenderness

Tenderness

Year: 2017

Runtime: 103 mins

Language: Italian

Director: Gianni Amelio

Drama

After a heart attack and hospital stay, Lorenzo returns to his apartment in Naples. While heading upstairs, he encounters Michela, a vibrant young woman who’s locked out of her new apartment across the hall. The cynical, reclusive retired lawyer is initially reluctant to help, but her spontaneous charm gradually melts his hardened exterior. He finds himself befriending Michela, her husband Fabio, and their children, rediscovering a sense of connection and empathy he thought he’s lost.

Bittersweet
Bittersweet ending
Emotionally heavy
Medium intensity
Slow pacing
Moderate complexity

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Timeline & Setting – Tenderness (2017)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Tenderness (2017). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Contemporary (present day)

The events take place in modern times, with current medical care and legal proceedings. It centers on aging, family strain, and fragile relationships set against a contemporary Italian backdrop.

Location

Italy

The story unfolds in contemporary Italy, focusing on intimate, urban living spaces. Much of the drama occurs inside private apartments, a hospital ward, and a courtroom, illustrating how domestic life intersects with medical and legal institutions. The setting emphasizes personal relationships and social pressures within a modern Italian milieu.

🇮🇹 Italy 🏡 Domestic setting 🏥 Hospital ⚖️ Courtroom

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 07:59

Main Characters – Tenderness (2017)

Meet the key characters of Tenderness (2017), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Lorenzo (Renato Carpentieri)

An elderly retired lawyer who has just suffered a heart attack. He keeps a careful distance from his children Elena and Saverio, masking regrets and a past that includes cheating clients and exploiting the system. His encounter with Michela offers a glimmer of warmth, but the truth of his violence-tainted career complicates any chance of redemption.

🏷️ Elderly 🧭 Complex morality 🕊️ Wrinkled emotions

Elena (Giovanna Mezzogiorno)

Lorenzo’s daughter and an interpreter who navigates a tense father-daughter dynamic. She carries the weight of family history and seeks a fragile connection with her father, especially in the court setting. Her resolve and empathy provide a counterbalance to Lorenzo’s reticence.

🧭 Daughter 🗣️ Interpreter 🏛️ Family tension

Saverio (Arturo Muselli)

Lorenzo’s other child, a presence in the strained family dynamic though less central in the public story. He represents the consequences of a fractured relationship and the generational impact of parental distance.

👨‍👦 Son 🧩 Family strain

Michela (Micaela Ramazzotti)

Lorenzo’s warm, neighborly ally who moves into the adjacent apartment with her husband Fabio. She offers companionship and a gentle pressure to smile, becoming a beacon of humanity for Lorenzo before succumbing to illness.

💞 Neighbor 🧡 Caregiver 🪵 Domestic life

Fabio (Elio Germano)

A neurotic engineer and father who cannot bond with his children, culminating in a massacre followed by suicide. His inability to maintain family connections exposes the simmering violence beneath ordinary life.

🧑‍💼 Engineer 🧨 Violence 🕊️ Fragile masculinity

Aurora (Greta Scacchi)

Fabio’s mother, a paranoid, emotionally distant woman who has struggled to form stable relationships since her youth. She re-enters Lorenzo’s life and adds to the emotional complexity of the family web.

👵 Paranoia 🌀 Family history

Rossana (Maria Nazionale)

Lorenzo’s former lover whose fractured relationship with him ties into the broader narrative of love, regret, and the consequences of past choices on present life.

💔 Past love 🕰️ Memory

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 07:59

Major Themes – Tenderness (2017)

Explore the central themes of Tenderness (2017), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💔 Family Estrangement

Lorenzo’s bond with his children Elena and Saverio is strained and distant long before the tragedy. The film probes how emotional distance, pride, and unresolved hurt erode family ties. Michela’s warmth highlights what is missing in Lorenzo’s relationships, while the courtroom and hospital scenes reveal the consequences of long-simmering tensions.

🕊️ Guilt and Redemption

Lorenzo’s past deceit in his professional life haunts him, complicating his attempts at connection and forgiveness. The revelation of his moral failings weighs on him as he searches for meaning and reconciliation. The story threads through personal accountability and the possibility of healing in a fractured life.

💥 Trauma and Violence

Fabio’s massacre of his children and his suicide shatter the family and expose the fragility of those left behind. Michela’s eventual death from illness adds another layer of loss and fragility. The film treats violence and mortality as forces that upend ordinary lives.

⚖️ Justice and Memory

Lorenzo witnesses the court proceedings as a former lawyer, confronting his own legacy of legal craft and ethical ambiguity. The trial scenes, along with Lorenzo’s restrained interactions with Elena, explore how memory, accountability, and the search for closure shape a troubled family.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 07:59

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Explore Movie Threads

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.

Movies about intergenerational friendship like Tenderness

Stories where isolated individuals find fragile connections with those much younger or older.If you liked the delicate bond between Lorenzo and Michela in Tenderness, this collection features similar movies about unexpected friendships across generations. These dramas explore themes of aging, loneliness, and the fragile hope that comes from finding connection in unexpected places.

tendermelancholicintrospectivequietreflectivehopefulsomber

Narrative Summary

A narrative where a reclusive, often older character, set in their ways and burdened by past losses, has their worldview challenged by a vibrant, younger individual. The story unfolds through small, meaningful interactions, leading to a gradual thawing of the protagonist's heart and a bittersweet acknowledgment of shared humanity, though not always a perfectly happy resolution.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here for their shared focus on the emotional dynamics of cross-generational relationships. They share a similar tone of tender melancholy, a slow, reflective pace, and a heavy emotional weight centered on themes of isolation and the redemptive potential of human connection.

Quiet dramas about grief and healing like Tenderness

Character studies where profound loss is met with tentative, incomplete healing.For viewers seeking movies similar to Tenderness that explore heavy themes of loss and the difficult path toward healing. These films share a slow, introspective pace, a bittersweet tone, and a focus on the psychological weight of trauma and the fragile gestures that lead to reconciliation.

sombermelancholicheavyintrospectivequiettenderreflectivegrieving

Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern follows a protagonist deeply affected by a past or current traumatic loss. The plot unfolds slowly, focusing on their internal struggle and isolation. The journey involves encountering other characters or situations that challenge their despair, leading to a conclusion that is neither fully tragic nor happily resolved, but instead acknowledges a fragile, bittersweet possibility for moving forward.

Why These Movies?

These movies are united by their solemn, reflective mood, their handling of heavy themes like tragic loss and loneliness, and their commitment to a realistic, emotionally complex—rather than neatly resolved—ending. The similarity lies in the specific emotional mix of deep sadness tempered by small, earned moments of tenderness.

Unlock the Full Story of Tenderness

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Tenderness Summary

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Tenderness Summary

Tenderness Timeline

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Tenderness Timeline

Tenderness Spoiler-Free Summary

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Tenderness Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Tenderness

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Tenderness (2017) Plot Summary & Movie Recap

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