Les enfants volés

I saw this movie almost ten years ago, and once or twice since then on TV, and I have never forgotten it. It is both heartbreaking and uplifting, sensitively directed and beautifully performed. The relationship between the young carabiniere and the two children he's escorting evolves so quietly and naturally that it never seems forced, as relationships so often seem in movies. I hesitate to cite specific scenes for fear of spoilage, but there is one moment in particular, when Antonio and young Luciano are swimming in the ocean, that perfectly illustrates the growing trust between them. The scene is quite simply breathtaking.

I wish this movie were available on DVD, because it deserves to be seen by more people. I would add it to my collection in a heartbeat if I could. Instead, I can only hope that some local theater or art museum will screen it someday as part of a film festival.

A truly unforgettable movie.

'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.

Amelio and Enrico lo Verso compenetrate perfectly. I believe is one of the most humanistic movies I have seen in a long time. The performance of the actors is great and the story is simple but very powerful. There is beautiful line that can be seen how the Enrico and the kids gel along the, movie and it is very interesting.

As another person said and I agree, it is one of the best child performances I have ever seen. Excellent.

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!

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.