La Dolce Villa

La Dolce Villa
Netflix poster
Directed by	Mark Waters
Written by	Elizabeth Hackett Hilary Galanoy
Produced by	Robyn Snyder Deborah Evans Nicola Rosada
Starring	Scott Foley Violante Placido Maia Reficco Giuseppe Futia
Cinematography	Theo van de Sande
Edited by	Travis Sittard
Music by	Caroline Ho
Production companies	DAE Light Media Front Row Films
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	February 13, 2025 (2025-02-13)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Fifty-something American widower Eric Field travels back to Italy, despite having bad experiences there in the past, to find his 24-year-old daughter Liv (Olivia). He hopes to stop her from blowing her inheritance on rebuilding a villa.

Eric is an Ohio business owner, whose company Main Course Consulting offers support to restaurants. He has taken time off now for the first time in years, out of concern that Liv is possibly jeopardizing her future.

On their way to seeing potential properties, they talk about what Liv has been doing while in Italy. She tutored English in Milan, nannied in Florence, worked harvesting olives, then accidentally found the village of Montezara while seeking a wine festival.

Eric and Liv go for a coffee, where they meet up with the town mayor Francesca. The 1-euro housing plan is a new economic plan implanted in remote parts of the country, such as the village of Montezara. They are selling abandoned heritage villas “as is” for one Euro to attract new blood to the community.

The three officially available properties do not appeal to the Fields, but a fourth one, which is not yet officially available, does. There, Liv reveals that Eric had been a trained chef. After agreeing to purchase the last house, he contacts Zola at his company to inform her he will stay in Italy for a month. Eric assures her he can manage remotely.

In the evening, as he is finding basic dinner, Eric bumps into Francesca and Bernardo, the geometra or surveyor whose job is to oversee any construction projects. Once Eric leaves, he expresses his concern with non-Italians purchasing property there. As Francesca hopes this first 1-euro housing plan will help revitalize the town, she begs him to support it.

The next day, the general contractor Nino comes. He initially says he can get the plans approved in six months, but Francesca convinces him to let them start straight away. As the house progresses, Eric continues to try and take over, but Liv stands her ground. They uncover beautiful brick floors as well as an authentic brick pizza oven and chimney. As Eric is helping Nino to remove old pipes, he learns also is widowed since five years ago, two years longer than him.

Liv insists Eric leave, as he has now been a month, she gives him a check for the 5,000 initial investment and they go to dinner. Giovanni is the local chef whose constant advances she regularly rejects. Eric invites everyone, including Francesca and Bernardo, to pitch the idea to open up and expand the kitchen to help Liv turn the villa into a culinary school which could boost the local economy. Eric asks Giovanni to participate, then encourages Liv to consider him, as he is vastly more promising than her past relationships.

Eric and Francesca cycle into the countryside to see an old castle which had been renovated and converted into a luxury hotel. After a picnic, before they can connect, she is called into a meeting. As Francesca drops Eric off, she insists they maintain a professional relationship.

Once Eric has been in Montezara two months, Zola warns him their competition Perfect Plate wants to poach her. Soon after, Liv divulges that Nico helped her get a year-long interior design apprenticeship in Rome, and he that he has started to see Francesca. Then Bernardo sees Eric and her together, which angers him.

Francesca has gotten the Fields' building rezoned without Bernardo's help. At the unveiling of the restored fresco for the soon to be culinary school, Bernando brings the American Longos, who he claims are the heirs, the rightful owners of the villa. The man's ancestor Leoni is from the town. Eric offers the couple the villa if they pay for the renovations.

Eric heads to the train station just as Francesca and a team of locals discover the Longos are descendents of the Leones, a different family, who are connected to another of the abandoned houses. She catches up to him and they declare their love. Months later, after the two Ohio restaurant consulting firms have merged, all celebrate the culinary school's success in Montesara.

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