BAMBINI IN CITTA' is a documentary short subject which Luigi Comencini made right after World War II and was shown with acclaim at the Cannes and Venice film festivals. He shot it in the streets of Milan, in certain areas that had been devastated by the war, in the stretches outside the city limits, along a canal, or in the interior corridors of various buildings. Some of the backgrounds are grim and yet the children in the foregrounds often live as if in an enraptured world of magic. More than a social document, the film emerges as a testament to the innate joy, adaptability, and optimism of children. Although influenced by De Sica's SCIUSCIA' (SHOE SHINE), it carries none of that classic's tragic weight. Comencini's lyric and loving look at the world of the very young would be a recurrent theme throughout his distinguished career. He had not made any features before making this film, only another short subject called "La noveletta" in 1937. Some of the films he would make with the theme of childhood would include: PROIBITO RUBARE; HEIDI; LA FINESTRA SUL LUNA PARK; INCOMPRESO; INFANZIA, VOCAZIONE E PRIME ESPERIENZE DI GIACOMO CASANOVA VENEZIANO; I BAMBINI E NOI; LE AVVENTURE DI PINOCCHIO; VOLTATI, EUGENIO; UN RAGAZZO DI CALABRIA; CUORE; MARCELLINO.
