Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Alberto, post office manager of a small town in Brianza, under pressure of his wife Sylvia, is willing to do anything to get the transfer to Milan. Even pretending to be disabled to climb in the ranking. But the trick does not work and as punishment, he is transferred in a small town in Campania, which to an inhabitant of the north is equivalent to a nightmare ...
Welcome to the South is an Italian comedy built around the classic fish-out-of-water premise of a northern Italian reluctantly relocated to the south, playing on regional stereotypes and cultural prejudices. The plot is competent and charming but thoroughly formulaic — the arc of initial resistance giving way to warm acceptance and personal growth is entirely predictable. Acting is solid from the ensemble, with Claudio Bisio carrying the lead well, but nothing transcends the genre. Cinematography is functional television-quality work that captures the Campania scenery adequately without any particular visual ambition. Novelty is low — the film is essentially an Italian remake/adaptation of the French hit Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, transplanting the concept to Italy's north-south divide, which makes it quite derivative by design. The ending follows the expected sentimental resolution without surprise but lands warmly enough for the tone of the piece.