I'm Not Scared (2003)

Perceptible drama filmed with sensitivity and good feeling . Sensational film that dispenses a brooding plot and considered to be one of the best Italian films of the 2000s , in fact was voted one of the best pictures by professionals and critics . Well directed film by Gabriele Salvatores , including a stirring story and screenplay by Niccolò Ammaniti , who tried to create an agreeable flick plenty of sensitivity and metaphor by tackling a description about a bright ten-year-old boy who finds several surprises on his early life . In southern Italy, Michele , a fine little boy , along with his friends visit an old rotten house on the outskirts of their small Italian village . Michelle (Giuseppe Cristiano , director Salvatores interviewed nearly 600 boys for the part , ultimately settling for novice Giuseppe, the son of a Fiat car worker) nearly meets another boy chained in a basement hidden outside his village, but fears to speak of it . Putting together what he learns from television, he starts dealing with the blind boy, his own parents , and a series of unexplained visiting strangers such as Sergio (Diego Abatantuono) , with a high-profile kidnapping that has the entire nation on edge . As Michelle lives with a dysfunctional as well as impoverished family formed by his intimate mother Anna (Aitana Sánchez Gijon) , father Pino (Dino Abbrescia) and brother . Michelle hearing behind doors and he aware horrible happenings . He is so interested in these mysteries that exacerbate his ingenuity and imagination . As Michelle begins to investigate all the secrets of people visit his home , of his family and their stories , but he finds out a terrible conclusion . Who can you trust when everyone's a suspect ?

It's a brilliant and touching story although sometimes is slow moving and tiring but is developed with intelligence and sensibility . In the picture are treated ethics and morals themes narrated with great sense of fairness and ductility . This is an intense as well as sensitive drama dealing with a little boy who meets another filthy, incoherent kid locked into a cellar , where is kept prisoner . A coming-of-age tale in which he discovers the sense of life about dark family secrets, friendship and compassion . This slow-moving and intelligent picture is well set in Southern Italy of the 70s . This film was loosely based on a true story of a kidnapped boy from Milan and the novella written about the incident . Enjoyable and thought-provoking picture starred by a phenomenal little actor , Giuseppe Cristiano . Sensitive film full of feeling , haunting mood-pieces , wonderful scenes and sense of wonder . Colorful picture , including marvelous frames , being mostly filmed at Southern Italy and including sunny outdoor scenes . This extraordinary flick spells through intricate patterns of images , sets , sound and color . His style is pretty much dry in the atmosphere as in the fresh dialog , as well as realistic , and including pleasant elements as when the little boy runs on the cereal countryside ."I'm Not Scared" is one of Tornatore's undisputed masterpieces and fundamental in his filmography where shows efficiently an interesting story and shot at the height of his creativity , with some peculiar characters , as the main starring boy , his lovely mummy magnificently performed by the Spanish Aitana Sánchez Gijon and the grudge visitor well played by Diego Abatantuono . Splendid , luxurious photography with juicy atmosphere is reflected on the marvelous outdoors in the country by cameraman Italo Petri

Fmovies: In the field in the country of Italy, the ten years old Michele (Giuseppe Cristiano) accidentally finds a weird boy in a hole in an abandoned farmhouse. He gives water and feeds the boy; he finds his name, Fillipo (Mattia Di Pierro), they are of the same age and Michele becomes his friend. In his innocence, Michele finds the nasty secret hidden by his family about Fillipo.

"Io non ho Paura" was a great surprise for me. I have just watched this movie and I did not have any information about this original and sensitive low paced story of innocence and compassion. The screenplay is perfect, developing the characters and disclosing the secrets through the innocent eyes of a ten years old boy, having a sensational plot point, in a wonderful landscape and a very sentimental soundtrack. The direction and the cinematography are remarkable, and when Michele rides his bicycle at night, we can see the night creatures in the fields. The performances of Giuseppe Cristiano, in a beautiful and morally strong character, and Mattia Di Pierro, in the role of a defenseless victim, are awesome. This awarded "Io non ho Paura" is an unforgettable gem to be discovered by lovers of a great cinema. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Eu Não Tenho Medo" ("I Have No Fear")

I saw this film on the Berlin film festival without having an idea of what may follow, and I was very surprised: this picture is one of the best, at least of this year.

A young boy, growing up in a little village somewhere in Italy, discovers an other young boy hiding in a small hole. Nobody in the whole village seems to know anything about him- but then the enigma around the discovery is revealed when the first boy listens hidden to a conversation about the second boy - and this conversation is held by his parents...

First of all: A great acted movie. The young actors are splendid. A good script too: very moody, and exciting too. Then I have to mention the very nice landscape in which the film is set, and the cinematography capturing it. And so on... a nearly perfect film, and you will do a good choice when seeing it! I do not like superlatives very much, but: 10 out of 10.

I'm Not Scared fmovies. The real mastery in this film lies in the beautiful simplicity of it's childlikeness. There are few movies in Cinema that portray the innocence and unfeigned nature of children - before the loss of their transparency on the way to adulthood. I know the French film Ponette might come to mind for some lovers of cinema, but that was shot entirely from the perspective of little children almost to the exclusion of grown ups. This film shows the stark contrast of the two worlds by interweaving them, with childhood itself being one of the main characters, as landscapes were for John Ford in so many of his Westerns. Toward the end, it reaches for the sublime in moments of Michelangelo.

For me, the emotional interaction of these very young non actors made the movie spiritual to some degree by way of it's sheer honesty, without compromising the true spirituality in the principles and very adult themes of good vs. evil, betrayal, forgiveness, reaping what you sow, the coming Judgment, and finally - true friendship born of selflessness. Something we adults could learn more from by becoming more like little children ourselves, myself included. I believe this to be one of the best expressions of the young mind in realism, without crossing over into the fantasy that is so common in film today. How refreshing.

Of course all of this speaks for the excellence of the Director and the Writer, who gave us such a beautiful picture. Something that could only be pulled off by adults, albeit with at least the fond memory of a child, if not the heart of one. The cinematography, the very intentional and gorgeous classical score, along with much subtle but deep contrast, make this a modern classic that I will enjoy again and again. I hope you do too.

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Having seen the trailer for the film, I was intrigued. If one doesn't catch an Italian film cycle, it's almost impossible to see a film from that country lately, even in a cosmopolitan city like New York. This film has just been released for a commercial run. Having seen "Mediterraneo" from the same director, Gabriele Salvatores, was another reason for taking a look at this movie.

The film depicts the horrors that Italy lived in the 70s with a wave of kidnappings. While a lot had political undertones, the fact remains that a lot of children were kidnapped for a ransom.

The idyllic way the film unfolds, with the children running freely in the wheat fields, is a sharp contrast of the mystery that is hidden, in a hole, by the abandoned house where they go to play. Michele, the boy at the center of the story, discovers the dark secret that will involve his own family and will end in a tragedy.

This is a story about friendship, loyalty and the realization of the ugliness behind what appears a serene, if poor, family life. Giuseppe Cristiano plays the young boy with conviction and makes us believe he is that boy presented in the story. It also speaks volumes how children interplay with others of their same age no matter whether they are rich, or poor.

The director is to be congratulated for dealing with the subject matter and making us care about a little boy that had the courage to save a life. We'll be looking forward other films from Mr. Salvatores, very soon.

"I'm Not Scared (Io non ho paura)" has a lot in common with the recent Russian film "The Return (Vozvrashcheniye)."

Both start off with poor pre-teen boys' bullying games that then intersect with their returning fathers' parallel adult realities. The contrasting conclusions reflect different national temperaments and the possible political messages in the films.

A major difference is the look that surrounds the contrasts between childhood innocence and male brutishness (abetted by cowed female complicity), where the Russian film is practically in a frigid black and white, the Italian film has the lush, sentimental cinematography of Italo Petriccione, who also worked with director Gabriele Salvatores on the dreamily beautiful "Mediterraneo."

The suspenseful thriller aspects roped me in, though the tension was undercut a bit by the Lavender Hill Mob antics of the conspirators, but the bumbling added to an uneasy feeling of unpredictability, aided by the suspenseful music by Ezio Bosso and Pepo Scherman.

We literally see the happenings through the eyes of the children, which is helped enormously by the unusually expressive and naturalistic child actors Giuseppe Cristiano and Mattia Di Pierro.