Il ladro di bambini

The child actors are supreme and the plot development feels real from beginning to end.

There are very few films that can make us confront a difficult issue without resorting to maudlin tears or some other form of emotional manipulation. This is one of them -- no Hollywood treatment here.

And I like the fact that the trip is a journey -- both physically and spiritually. It starts in the north of Italy and leads us progressively towards its southern extremity in Sicily. As the children migrate to the South, our hopes and hearts warm as we come to expect a new emotional climate for them. As with any film intending to make a serious comment on the devestating nature of child abuse, something intervenes to prove to us that our hopes are premature.... This film betrays no compromise in its portrayal of innocence lost and regained and lost once again. The scene at the end with the girl comforting her brother is one of the most poignant I know in film.

I would put this film at the top of a narrow list of films addressing childhood trauma (including "Salaam Bombay!" and "Alice in the Cities"). But the perfection of the child actors, the tremendous care of the storytelling (director Gianni Amelio co-authored the screenplay), and the generous, ambulant scenery make this film a standout that has seldom been rivaled.

This is one of the best films of all time. The story is heartbreaking: an 11 year-old girl has been forced into prostitution by her mother. When the police arrest the mother, Rosetta and her little brother Luciano (who is 9) must be taken to a children's home in the south of Italy. A young Carabiniere named Antonio is assigned the task of taking them from Milan to Sicilly, even though he's barely more than a child himself. The journey takes this mismatched threesome to Antonio's home province, where he re-unites briefly with his sister and his old granny, before Rosetta is recognized from a magazine cover, and shunned. The growing tenderness among the three young people is the essence of the story. The girl, although only 11, conveys the bitterness of adulthood through her ineffably sad eyes. She knows so much more about life than her 19 year-old policeman, yet without any seedy sexual implications, he comes to teach her through his tender care that there's more to life than sorrow. Luciano is a beautiful child, whose adoration of the soldier/cop is delicately and warmly depicted. Only The 400 Blows and Forbidden Games have captured the ache of childhood as well. The director has used stunning compositions and lingering takes of the Italian countryside that make the story resonate beyond its intimate canvas. The acting is brilliant. I suppose the only reason this film has not been released on DVD is it's controversial subject matter, which is a shame, because that shunning is what the film is about. The Italian title is Il Ladro di Bambini. Don't miss it!

This film is one that will be difficult to view. The basis of the film is that two children are taken away from their abusive mother. Lo Verso must escort them to an orphanage however the orphanage does not want the children. I won't spoil anything for you, but I will say that this type of film would never be made in the US. The themes that are suggested are extremely controversial.

I too agree with many people when they say that this is one of the best acting performances by children ever.

This movie is the story of a journey, a common theme among movie-makers. In this film a policeman is charged with the transfer of two children (aged 11 and 9)from Milano to a Home for Children in Sicily. It is based on a newspaper report which gives authenticity to the story. Remarkable performances are given by the children who amazingly have had no previous experience in film-acting. Eye contact between the main characters is particularly powerful. The policeman also acts convincingly. He finds the resentful children a difficult pair to control. The 11-year old has a secret(about her life of prostitution) and her young brother is an asthmatic sadly in need of his father who has abandoned them. There are some tender scenes in the film where the policeman introduces the children to his happy extended family, where the policeman gives the boy some swimming lessons in the sea and where they agree to find each other when the boy leaves the Home at 15 years of age. A simple theme but so enthralling.

'Il Ladro Di Bambini' is one of the most moving pieces of cinema I've ever seen, and it reminds me so clearly why I love film. I've just seen it, and I'm still very emotional over what I saw. The children play the roles perfectly, and Enrico Lo Verso's performance is brilliant as well. It's such a simple film actually, but so incredibly powerful. The scene where Luciano tells Antonio that he'll come looking for him as soon as he's turned 15, no matter where he is, made me cry. This is a true, honest film about trust, that I will treasure for a long time to come.