Natale in casa Cupiello

Natale in casa Cupiello (2020) is an Italian tragicomedy you can watch online on iFILM. Director Edoardo De Angelis adapts Eduardo De Filippo's 1931 Neapolitan stage play, with Sergio Castellitto as a father who pours all his attention into building the family nativity scene while his household quietly falls apart.

Luca Cupiello fusses over his cardboard figurines as Christmas approaches. His daughter is trapped in an unhappy marriage, his idle son keeps draining the family's money, and his wife is worn thin holding everyone together. The holiday meant to bring them closer only drags old wounds into the open. Shot in the Neapolitan dialect, it keeps the bittersweet warmth that runs through De Filippo's theatre.

This is a small, room-sized story carried by its actors and the prickly mood of a holiday eve rather than big plot turns. Best for viewers who love Italian family cinema that is funny and sad in the same breath. Stream Natale in casa Cupiello (2020) online on iFILM.