Tenderness

Lorenzo, an elderly retired lawyer, has a heart attack and is admitted to the hospital. While hospitalized, he shows estrangement by refusing to speak with his children Elena and Saverio. The event sets the stage for his later isolation and complex family dynamics.

During his hospital stay, Lorenzo avoids communication with Elena and Saverio, keeping them at arm's length. The silence underscores the fractured relationship and foreshadows the distance that will linger after he leaves the hospital. This moment marks a turning point in family ties.

Back at his building, Lorenzo meets Michela, the neighbor who has moved in with her husband and children. He finds a human connection in her presence, which stands in contrast to his distant family life. The encounter begins to reintroduce warmth into his solitary routine.

Michela invites Lorenzo to smile more and proves to be an affectionate, comforting presence. He starts spending time with her family and grows fond of Michela in particular. Her warmth offers Lorenzo a sense of belonging he has long missed.

Lorenzo becomes close to Michela's family and notices Fabio, the engineer, is unable to bond with his own children like Lorenzo once could with his. This parallel deepens Lorenzo's self-awareness about his past detachments. It also strengthens his connection to Michela and her family.

During a Sunday conversation with Michela, Lorenzo admits that as a son he loved his children, but once they grew up he became emotionally detached. Michela suggests that this detachment may be a defense mechanism to avoid pain. The admission marks a turning point in his self-understanding.

Right after revealing his feelings, Lorenzo abruptly leaves the house, stepping away from his familiar routines. The act signals a growing impulse to detach even further or seek clarity away from his past. His departure foreshadows the darker events that follow.

Upon Lorenzo's return, he learns that Fabio has killed his children and taken his own life. Michela survives the massacre but is hospitalized in critical condition. The event shatters the fragile peace Lorenzo had found in his new neighbor's family.

During Michela's hospitalization, Lorenzo visits daily, presenting himself as a protective figure in a bid to be part of her life. The routine deepens his sense of responsibility and loyalty toward someone who believed in him. The visits also give him an avenue to confront his own past actions indirectly.

In the hospital corridor, Lorenzo crosses paths with Aurora, Fabio's paranoid mother who struggles to maintain relationships. The encounter broadens the network of people affected by Fabio's tragedy and adds to Lorenzo's tangled emotional map.

It is revealed that Lorenzo is not Michela's father, prompting the authorities to issue a restraining order against him. At the same time, it comes to light that Lorenzo had a history of cheating the state by exploiting false invalids and scams during his career. The dual consequences hit him hard, exposing past sins that haunt his present.

Michela dies in the hospital, and Lorenzo, overwhelmed by the events, moves away from his home. Elena, his daughter, grows agitated by his absence but has long worried about him and hopes for reconciliation. The loss marks a final severing of the fragile ties that remained.

In the days that follow, Elena grapples with her father's silence, yet she continues to worry about him and clings to a hope for reconciliation. The narrative hints at a fragile emotional bridge still possible between father and daughter.

A few days later, Lorenzo attends court where Elena works as an interpreter. After the session ends, Elena leaves the court and finds her father sitting on a bench. They sit together in quiet companionship, and he silently shakes her hand.