影片讲述了一位随家人一同移民到比利时酷爱音乐的少年面对生活中种种挫折坚持自己的梦想,不放弃充满乐观,在通往成功的路上收获了友情爱情亲情等人类最美好情感的故事,而且让人感受到手风琴的魅力。这部传记影片突出描写了父子之间的情感,父爱如山,影片结尾处,演唱会上儿子通过电台表 达出对父亲的爱的台词很感人,堪称影史描写父子之情的经典。整部影片温情洋溢,诙谐幽默,又感人至深,是一部不可多得的传记题材佳作。Salvatore Granata is a rather poor man who lives with his wife, son and daughter in Calabria in Italy. One day Salvatore decides to move to Belgium to work in the coal mine of Waterschei as a "gastarbeider," an immigrant worker. His family will stay in Italy as Salvatore will only be in Belgium for three years. He hopes to earn much money in a rather small time frame so he can buy a forge for his son Rocco who is now still a 9 year old boy. After a year, Salvatore decides his family should be with him, so they also move to Belgium. They soon discover the life of a "gastarbeider" is difficult: they have to live in some kind of barracks, they are neglected by the Belgian people and they do not earn much. They are astonished when they hear Salvatore signed a contract of five years and children of "gastarbeiders" ought to work in the mines as soon they leave high school. Rocco meets Helena, the daughter of the local grocer. However, the man is a racist and forbids his daughter to play with Italian boys.