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Io non ho Paura
I'm not Scared
No Tengo Miedo
Italy/Spain 2003
produced by Marco Chimanz, Giovanni Stabilini, Maurizio Totti, Riccardo Tozzi for Colorado Films, Cattleya, Alquimia Cinema, Medusa Produzione
directed by Gabriele Salvatores
starring Giuseppe Cristiano, Mattio Di Perro, Adriana Conserva, Fabio Tetta, Giulia Matturo, Stefano Biase, Fabio Antonacci, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Dino Abbrescia, Giorgio Careccia, Antonella Stefanucci, Riccardo Zinna, Michele Vasca, Susi Sánchez, Diego Abatantuono
screenplay by Niccolò Ammaniti, francesca Marciano, based on the novel by Niccolò Ammaniti, music by Ezio Bosso, Pepo Scherman
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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Somewhere in the Italian countryside, circa the 1970's: While playing
in and around an abandoned building in the fields, 10 year old Michele
(Giuseppe Cristiano) discovers a little boy in a hole in the ground, and
it takes him quite a while to find out that the little boy is not a
vampire or monster or anything but Filippo (Mattia di Pierro), the victim
of a kidnapping who is obviously held there until his parents pay up. Michele
befriends Filippo and brings him food and everything ... until he's caught
with the boy by the kidnappers, who to his shock include his parents (Dino
Abbrescia, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) as well as creepy Sergio (Diego
Abatantuono), who has come to stay with them for a few days ... but of
course, the fact that his parents are among the kidnappers - as are the
parents of most of his friends - saves him from any kind of severe
punishment. The next day, when Michele returns to the hole in the
ground, Filippo is gone - but one of Michele's friends know where he's
kept now ... Obviously, things go from bad to worse for the kidnappers,
as helicopters start patrolling the area, and Sergio, who's the boss of
the operation, and his local accomplices, Michele's parents included,
start panicking and decide to kill Filippo ... but Michele can't let that
happen, so he frees the boy - but by doing so he puts himself in his
stead, and exposes himself to whoever will come to kill Filippo ... which
happens to be Michele's own dad, who unfortunately shoots before
recognizing his son, and he injures Mchele's leg - and immediately loses
all interest in the kidnapping in order to save his son. Sergio
meanwhile has not given up, and he's actually just about to shoot the boy
when he's caught in the spotlight of one of the helicopters and is forced
to give up.
Films about ten-year olds aimed at a primarily adult audience are only
rarely free of extreme kitsch, but Io non ho Paura works remarkably
well in that respect, sure, there are some cheesy scenes in this one, but
for the most part, it's just a very grown-up story (a kidnapping) seen
through the eyes of a kid, where much focus is also put on the social
context (an impoverished small village in rural Italy - which also serves
as a pittoresque backdrop) without becoming preachy. Add to this a capable
ensemble cast and a directorial effort that outbalances many a shot of the
beautiful landscape with perfect but unintrusive pacing, and you are left
with quite a good film - and an entertaining one, too.
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