This magical Italian rite of passage movie manages to do some difficult things very well but is less successful when bogged down with the demands of conventional storytelling. When it's going nowhere in particular, just showing something vaguely sinister chipping away at a boy's innocence, the film works brilliantly.
However, when the plot asserts itself and that something sinister is defined - a kidnapping tale with a threat of John Paul Getty III-like aural mutilation - director Gabriele Salvatores' handling of the resultant thriller element is much less impressive. Worse still, for a film that I felt could go absolutely anywhere when it burst confidently onto the screen, things become disappointingly predictable towards the end. On the plus side, the child performances - so crucial to the success or failure of the movie - are excellent, especially those of Giuseppe Cristiano (Michele, the boy) and Giulia Matturo (Maria, his younger sister), and the Southern Italian countryside is simply breathtaking. My favourite moment is when Michele confesses to his sister that he cannot see her imaginary dog playing in the fields behind their house, and in the very next scene we see the combines rolling over the hill to harvest the wheat crop; we know with heartbreaking certainty that something intangible yet vitally important is gone forever, and that things can never be the same again for Michele.
October 3, 2008
Top Critic
