Misunderstood - pre-order-16-November-2026

John Duncombe, the British consul in Florence, returns home from his wife’s funeral to his two children, who are unaware of their mother’s passing. He makes the decision to tell his eldest son, Andrea, but hides the truth from his sickly younger son, Milo. Director Luigi Comenicini (The Sunday Woman) captures the innocence and carefree moments of youth alongside the agonising feelings of grief, creating one of the finest films about childhood, one which can stand alongside The 400 Blows, The Spirit of the Beehive and L'enfance nue. A Palme d’Or nominee at the Cannes Film Festival and recipient of multiple awards from Italian institutions, Misunderstood features remarkable performances from the children and from Anthony Quayle (Lawrence of Arabia) as Duncombe.

“One of the most beautiful portraits of a child in the history of the cinema”- Claude Michel Cluny, Cinéma

“This pure melodrama, perhaps the most devastating ever made in the history of Cinema, to be placed on a level with the greatest works of Griffith and Sirk.” - Guy Bracourt

“Comencini treats a difficult subject of great importance: the misunderstanding between a father and his son, and gets results that are not only devastating but also highly believable.” - Bertrand Tavernier, Positif

“Made in 1966, this masterpiece by Luigi Comencini has lost none of its radiant beauty or its subversive force.” Le Monde (1978)