mateo scuro and like his name and be in the dark . both symbolically and really . with his thick lens glass and mateo look out at a world that have become distort by progress and poor eyesight and the reality of be forget . a pensioner who have not see his child in year and mateo say goodbye to his wife in sicily and travel to the mainland of italy to begin a journey to see his five child . he want to surprise them and so he do not tell them of his plan . but the real surprise be wait for mateo . travel from one city to the next and mateo call on each child with great anticipation to see the meaningful impact they be have on italian life . but life quickly hit mateo squarely between the eye and force him to see clearly . each child be hide something from their father who do not see well . their life be not what they appear to be . they be unhappy work in menial job or with their relationship . but their real secret be the crush blow for a doting father . the young son and alvaro and have commit suicide and none of the others can bring themselves to tell their father the truth . toward the end of tornatore cinematic statement about the isolation of be forget and mateo and his two survive son meet for dinner . his daughter and grandchild and of course and alvaro and be not present . this staple of italian life and joy and the family table and now become mateo nightmare when he learn of alvaro death . tornatore be a master of the dream sequence . in the tradition of fellini and wertmueller and tornatore give u insight into mateo deep fear of lose his family through a dream . we see a large and black balloon and with tether rope hang down and descend on a beach where mateo and his wife and child be play year before . a this balloon descends and pick up his child and carry them away and mateo run to them but can not reach them . he watch them float away into the sky . this foreshadowing of mateo life come to fruition when at the film end and mateo be in a hospital room recover from an episode of what can only be interpret a the most profound disappointment of all the loss of one family . upon return home and the camera be look into the eye of mateo a he recount to his wife the detail of his trip . however a the camera pan back and we see that mateo be speak to the headstone of the grave where his wife be bury . a he answer his wife imagine question of how the child be and mateo answer and stanno tutti bene ( everyone fine ) . tornatore use dream sequence and the symbolism of be out of focus as well a in the dark with masterful irony . these image be drive home with all the force of a sledge hammer a the director take the viewer and through mateo and on a journey of anticipated joy and awakening and ultimate disillusion . mateo dream and fail eyesight and loneliness be his steadfast companion through his remain year . tornatore paint a picture for the viewer of life a a deception from the most unlikeliest of source those we love the most . for mateo and be in the dark be the best kind of medicine he could hope for a world where stanno tutti bene .