Very good Italian film about a Roman family, covering three generations - exploring sensitivity, love and family values - with hardly any special effects, sensationalism or violence. I think this film also emphasizes very much that social change is part of human life; and that all tragic events - such as WW1 and WW 2 and Mussolini's Fascism - eventually come to an end, making way for positive change, so that people can live happy lives and cherish family values; as well as art, music and literature. This film also explores the complications of love - with the protagonist, Carlo, falling in love with one sister, but then marrying the other one; which causes some complications during Carlo's life - the whole picture being a bit of a parody of romanticism, sibling rivalry and the all-importance of being a good, respectable catholic family in Rome during those times.
The last scene, with the 80 year old Carlo - the grandfather now - posing with all his family for the photo (as in the very first scene, when he is a baby surrounded by people that will die eventually) is very moving and profound, I think, because it encompasses in one single moment the essence of human life, and what the journey of a human being is about: An interesting experience and adventure - but also a very unpredictable journey where a person meets many like-minded and loving souls. However, at the end of the day, life is a journey that inevitably has an end; a valuable gift, that brings many loving moments and memories with it :)