Italy went through a wave of kidnapping not long ago where wealthy citizens, or their children, were taken away by professional bandits. Most of the people behind this type of crime were from the Calabria area. In fact, it was an industry where some poor people without scruples stood to make a lot of money by extorting rich Italians with the crime they were committing. These evil men would keep the unfortunate victims hidden and would only return them to their families when they received payment. Some times the kidnappers killed their prey when something went wrong.
The film concentrates on two enemy families of kidnappers. When Vito's father kills two opposing members of another gang, their family comes to get revenge and kills six members of the young boy's family. Vito runs away to go look for a brother at a cave, where he discovers a boy, who has been kidnapped, lying dead. When he discovered the boy, he also found a knapsack with an address printed in it, which he assumes is the dead boy's.
The film follows Vito as he flees from the enemy that wants to kill him in amazing fashion. This peasant boy, who probably hasn't left his backward area, finds uncanny ways to avoid being killed and outsmarts the guys that are pursuing him. Eventually, he ends up at the house of the dead boy, where the distraught mother believes her kidnapped son has returned home, to the horror of her husband, who sees the truth.
This Italian film, directed by Carlo Carlei, is a document about that era of that tragic period in the country. Mr. Carlei paces his story well in the way he sets the chase of the boy as he tries to evade his pursuers. Manuel Colao is perfect as the young boy. Francesca Neri and Jacques Perrin are seen as the parents of the kidnapped boy.
The film will not disappoint because it shows the sure hand of a director, Carlo Carlei, who takes us for an exciting ride.
