Although this is an English-Italian movie and made in English, this might as well be considered a "foreign film" to us in North America because it certainly has the feel of it. The dialog, the mood and actions of the people are like "foreign films" from France or Italy, not the normal fare of U.S., Canadian or British films.
For me, that's fine as I enjoy the good storytelling and the fascinating photography.
There is action in the first 10 minutes but not that much afterward. About halfway through this 112-minute film, it really begins to bog down, unfortunately. However, I still rate this movie with a decent number of stars almost strictly on the cinematography which is excellent, especially in that first half.
Ian Hawkes, as the little boy, and Vittorio Duse (?) as his dad, are fun to watch. Storywise, I did not understand the card game near the end and did not agree with the ending where the "good guys" cheat to get their goods back. I just never subscribed to the message that "two wrongs make a right."
I would like to this film again, and with a nice DVD transfer.
