A crowded street in Naples city center, plenty of shops selling presepi.
A wealthy American couple and Jake, their 10 year-old child, try to push their way through the crowd. While husband and wife argue which street to take, the boy is unwillingly separated from them.
Jake lags behind, attracted by the carved shapes of Pulcinella... holy images, cribs, horns...
Spellbound by such extraordinary shapes, the naughty boy stops at a stand and begins to touch Pulcinellas.
While quarrelling, the couple suddenly realizes that Jack is no longer with them. They begin to search for him desperately, blaming each other for this mishap.
But the child is not there…
This is how THE WHOLLY FAMILY begins: a dreamlike journey between reality and imagination throughout the most hidden places and symbols of Naples; a city that the Director is able to capture at the top of its contradictions.
