With the background of the XX century Italian history, Carlo, a retired teacher, traces the vicissitudes of his family.

Traces events in the life of Carlo, from his christening in 1906, where his grandfather reminds his father that Carlo means "free man," to his 80th birthday party. The film principally explores his relationships with younger brother Guilio, with wife Beatrice, and with her sister Adriana, whom Carlo loved as a young man.—<[email protected]>

"The Family," an album with a velvet cover, is meant to touch the extended family of man. Formal portraits, bookends in this 80-year saga, enclose the central story, which opens with the baptism of Carlo, a baby in his grandfather's lap, and ends with Carlo as a grandfather with a baby in his arms. And never once do we get out of the house, whose rooms provide the film's structure. Comfort or passion? Carlo couldn't really decide until it was too late.—<[email protected]>