Uncle Nino
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Uncle Nino is a 2003 movie which deals with that unknown cinematic commodity: a family, who have lost their way, but are trying to do good in spite of difficulty. The movie has the Dove Foundation Seal so it is fit for all ages.
A hairy old man from Italy erupts into the midst of a distressed Italian-American Family. The father (Joe Mantegna) has become a stranger and thinks only of his lawn and a promotion. Comes their Uncle Nino with a suitcase full of home-made Italian wine and a distessing insistence that they recommence loving each other -- the children call each other "stupid", don't eat meals together and live in a communal jail they call a home. Uncle Nino disrupts all of that, insists that they eat meals together, joins the son's rock and roll band with his Italian Violin and generally drives everybody nuts. Each one finds his own redemption. God is mentioned reverentially, Uncle Nino himself extirpates his own terrible guilt. The movie begins with an exhuberant and passionate prayer and ends in life-affirming joy. This movie has been credited with changing the lives of many people in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and has been running there for 12 weeks with no end in sight.
It has become much more than just a movie, it has taken its place as a local Grand Rapidian institution and shows no signs of ceasing. A group of local people, called Nino's Nephews and Nieces has formed, they appear after many performances, taking emails and building an ever larger email-tree. The actor playing Uncle Nino, Pierrino Mascarino has been in Grand Rapids many times and for weeks at a time. He has given testimony in their churches and lectured in their schools, he has spoken in their colleges and film schools. He has visited their Senior Citizen Centers and hospitals. The movie is often mentioned on local radio and television and is the constant subject of newspaper articles and letters to the editor.