a short ride, but it lingers to a point where they drive into the night and reach Menton, in the border between Italy and France. Bidding Arianna and Stefano goodbye, the family watch their bus leave Italy and wander in the beach as a new life awaits them. Cast Production Italian director Nanni Moretti first developed the idea for The Son's Room out of a longtime interest to write about a psychoanalyst and play one. He came up with the story when he learned his wife was pregnant with a boy. Cinematographer Giuseppe Lanci said they opted to shoot in Ancona, looking for a sea and port and deciding against Genoa for its large size and Trieste for its distractingly beautiful buildings. Filming was suspended for three months, mid schedule, due to Moretti's illness. In addition, the crew's contracts expired, and everything was interrupted by a strike action and Christmas break. Reception Critical reception The film received positive reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes measuring an 84% approval rating based on 83 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Sons Room is a moving and contemplative study of grief." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said "this affecting and beautiful film really is a very accomplished piece of work from Moretti, superbly acted, refreshingly direct and blessed with an ingenious, unexpected final act." Roger Ebert gave it three and a half stars, writing, "Sometimes in a quite ordinary way a director can reach out and touch us." Stephen Holden of The New York Times assessed it as touching, drawing a parallel to the September 11 attacks that year, which showed how sudden tragedy devastates the living. Holden opined the film was not very creative but featured solid acting. David Rooney of Variety called it "a delicate drama of pain and grief," criticizing Moretti's performance as overly self-conscious but praising Morante as "deeply moving." Meredith Brody of The Chicago Reader said the film demonstrated "tender skill." Time Out praised it as "Subtle, psychologically astute and engagingly unassertive in tone," concluding it is "A gem." Michael Wilmington of The Chicago Tribune called the film "moving." The film appears in Empire'''s 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time at number 480. Peter Bradshaw of The