Although selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 77th Academy Awards, it was not nominated.

Gianni has been asked by his son's caretakers to bring him to a Berlin hospital for yearly tests and check-ups.

Gianni and Nicole (Charlotte Rampling) meet accidentally in the Berlin hospital and, even though he feels awkward and almost ashamed at being seen as having fathered "such a child", they connect.

The website's critical consensus states: "Favoring subtlety over cheap sentimentality, The Keys to the House is emotionally honest, compassionate, and a genuine tear-jerker".

[1] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".