''Everybody's Fine'' () is a 1990 Italian

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by

Giuseppe Tornatore Giuseppe Tornatore (born 27 May 1956) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the directors who brought critical acclaim back to Italian cinema.Katz, Ephraim, "Italy," ''The Film Encyclopedia'' (New York: HarperRes ...

who co-wrote the screenplay with

Tonino Guerra Antonio "Tonino" Guerra (16 March 1920 – 21 March 2012) was an Italian poet, writer and screenwriter who collaborated with some of the most prominent film directors, such as Andrei Tarkovsky, Michelangelo Antonioni, Theo Angelopoulos, and Fede ...

and

Massimo De Rita Massimo () is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Massimo Agostinelli (Max Agos) (born 1987), Swiss-based Italian American artist, entrepreneur and activist * Massimo Agostini (born 1964), Italian football man ...

. It won the

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury () is an independent film award for feature-length films shown at major international film festivals since 1973. The award was created by Christian film makers, film critics and other film professionals. The objec ...

(Giuseppe Tornatore) and was nominated for

Golden Palm The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

(Giuseppe Tornatore) at the

1990 Cannes Film Festival The 43rd Cannes Film Festival took place from 10 to 21 May 1990. Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci served as jury president for the main competition. American filmmaker David Lynch won the ''Palme d'Or'', for the drama film '' Wild at Heart' ...

. It also won the

David di Donatello Awards The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (the Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award ca ...

for David Best Music (

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

) and the

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an Italian film award, held since 1946 by the ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani'' (Italian National Union of Film Journalists). Awards are given annually in ...

for Silver Ribbon Best Original Story (Giuseppe Tornatore). The film was remade in 2009 as '' Everybody's Fine'' with an American setting and starring

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

, and again in 2016 in China also as '' Everybody's Fine'' in 2016.

Plot

Matteo Scuro, a retired Sicilian bureaucrat and

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

buff, has been stood up by his five adult children during the summer vacation, all of whom live in various cities on the Italian mainland with what he believes are responsible jobs. Despite their not visiting and the neighbours' criticisms, he remains optimistic, considering that his children could not come because they are too busy. His children are named after popular opera characters, Tosca for Puccini's

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

, Canio for Leoncavallo's

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

, Norma for Bellini's

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

, Guglielmo for Rossini's

Guglielmo Tell William Tell (, ; ; ; ) is a legendary folk hero of Switzerland. He is known for shooting an apple off his son's head. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albrecht Gessler, ...

and Alvaro for Verdi's La forza del destino. He decides to surprise each of them with a visit, traveling by train, and finds none of them as he imagined, with each of his children seeming to reflect the opera character after whom they were named. Matteo's train journeys take him to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

to search for each of his children; he even spends one night on the streets among the homeless. Before his arrival at each of their homes, each of his grown children scramble to put on a façade to cover up their personal failings: One daughter's ex-husband temporarily moves back in with her and their child. A son who lost his University professorship temporarily moves back into his old office. Another daughter hides the fact that she works as a lingerie model, etc. Finally, after visiting all his children, Scuro returns to Sicily, visits his wife's grave, and reports to her with irony that their children are all fine.

Main characters

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...

: Matteo Scuro *

Michèle Morgan Michèle Morgan (; born Simone Renée Roussel; 29 February 1920 – 20 December 2016) was a French film actress, who was a leading lady for three decades in both French cinema and Hollywood features. She is considered one of the greatest Fren ...

: Woman in train *

Valeria Cavalli Valeria Cavalli (born 1 November 1959) is an Italian actress and model. Selected filmography External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cavalli, Valeria Living people Italian female models 1959 births Italian film actresses Italian televis ...

: Tosca *

Marino Cenna Marino, Mariño or Maryino may refer to: Places * Marino, Lazio, a town in the province of Rome, Italy * Marino, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide ** Marino Conservation Park ** Marino Rocks Greenway, a cycling route ** Marino Rocks railway ...

: Canio * Norma Martelli: Norma *

Roberto Nobile Roberto Nobile (11 November 1947 – 30 July 2022) was an Italian actor. Selected filmography References External links * 1947 births 2022 deaths Italian male film actors Male actors from Verona Italian male television actors ...

: Guglielmo * Salvatore Cascio: Alvaro enfant

References

External links

* * *
''Everybody's Fine''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

{{Giuseppe Tornatore 1990 films 1990 drama films Films directed by Giuseppe Tornatore Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films about old age French drama films Italian drama films 1990s Italian-language films 1990s French films Italian-language French films