Description: Miramax Home Entertainment presents I'M NOT SCARED, the suspenseful and compelling thriller about a young boy who discovers a shocking secret. This masterfully crafted, haunting film is directed by Gabriele Salvatores, director of the Academy Award(R) winning film "Mediterraneo" (Best Foreign Language Film, 1991). In I'M NOT SCARED, something sinister is lurking under the surface of 10-year old Michele's (Guiseppe Cristiano) idyllic summer. While the days in his remote southern Italian village are filled with the familiar routines of childhood, a chance discovery leads to a shocking revelation. Now, suddenly beyond the point-of-no-return, Michele digs further to find that even his own parents may be involved in a monstrous crime..
Quality Drama with a side order of Sicilian Countryside., 5 Jul 2008. Plot:
Thriller dealing with the loss of innocence set in southern Italy. A ten-year-old boy discovers a young child chained up and starving in an abandoned farmyard. He befriends the boy and slowly discovers that he has uncovered a conspiracy that reaches into his own family
My Review:
Written by Niccolò Ammaniti, whose novel is so sublime and subtle in its creative use to describe sound, colour and imagery, comes the onscreen version of one of his appraised novels based on a 1970's kid growing up in Sicily.
Director Gabriele Salvatores accrues together scriptwriter Niccol Ammaniti's simple words and tries to apprehend the panoramic imagery that encompasses the film in its finest and darkest hours. Sheer volume of words could not describe how the imagery grasps the viewers eyes, although as if you are standing upon a Sicilian cornfield, where you can almost feel the dry heat and smell the odorous of faint and distinctive Sicilian cuisine. The very imagery makes in an envious place to live, as if on some level that the pleasures of the idyllic rural existence is the very essence of a carefree life.
The story is of course a bucolic drama is set in 1978; the Basilicata region of Italy, you think with the title it suggests to be about growing up in the rustic keeps of Sicilian Italy. However, the sheer forceful blow comes from the fact that film is like the idyllic place that has more than meets the eye, of course it does with a title as suggestive as it sounds. It seems like a picture-perfect indigenous location that bears the likes of a tourist's idea of a traditional Italian holiday.
The real star is 9-10 year old Michele (Giuseppe Cristiano), the rurally kept pre-adolescent protagonist following his discovery of a feral blind boy Filippo (Mattia Di Pierro), who's chained up in a hole in the ground beside a ruined farm. The pairing of friendship and direction of these two herald by director Gabriele Salvatores shows its true appreciation in the interaction of these two very different children. The range of acting and direction shows the same level of mature child actors in league with other directors, i.e. Guillermo del Toro's work with child star Ivana Baquero in `Pan's Labyrinth' or Alejandro González Iñárritu's direction of children in his trilogy from `Amores Perros', `21 Grams' and recently `Babel'.
One scene that particularly engrosses attention and shows true connection between these younger actors is a scene in which Michele tries to get Filippo to open his eyes and look upon the face of the young lad who has befriended him. The scene shows a glimmer and incandescent spark of light and Filippo's first look at Michele.
Nevertheless, underneath the pristine imagery and wonderful direct lies the superficial rendering of a thriller, less played out conventionally and more a tense coming-of-age light-hearted rigid story. Good stuff.
Verdict:
Unparallel drama and tightly woven plot with a wonderfully sublime script thanks to the novelist. Fancy a trip to Sicily? 8.5/10.
The Film is showing on Monday 7th July 2008 at 12:10 am. On Channel 4.
Insightful innocence A ten-year-old's view of unspeakable evil co-existing with unquestioning family love, and its startling outcome.
Heat. Intense, relentless heat You will draw a clear sense of this gripping story from the many other excellent reviews on this site. What I want to comment on is the most amazing cinematographic depiction of HEAT ever brought to the silver screen. I've never experienced anything like it! The movie is set against the backdrop of mid summer in southern Italy - filmed in Potenza. This is the wheat-belt of Italy, and man is it hot. Every scene, every detail draws you back to that essential point - it is molto caldo. The crackle of the wheat sheaths blowing in the hot wind; the scratching of the ants crawling across the burnt dust under the wheat; the buzzing of the cicadas in the dried branches of the shrubs; the glare of the sun and the stark contrasting shadows it creates; the the rattle of the fan in the dark kitchen, blowing across the sweat-beaded breast of Michele's mother in a loose peasant dress. Pulsating, palpable heat. The movie should have won an Oscar for this giant artistic accomplishment. It is worth seeing for this reason alone, and yet it only the setting for a terrific, compelling, disturbing story. One of the best films I have ever seen.
I'm Not Scared Told from the point-of-view of innocent children who are victims of desperate and corrupt adults, this vivid suspense tale by the director of the Oscar-winning "Mediterraneo" speaks to the fleeting nature of innocence in a morally bankrupt world. "Scared" will hold you captive straight through to its heart-pounding conclusion. A unique and first-rate thriller.
I am not afraid This movie was so moving. I felt so involved as the story first began and ended. The setting was superb.... I could actually feel the breeze as it swept through the golden fields. Reminded me of idyllic childhood days when there was not a care in the world except to play and be with friends. The feel of the movie turns dark and ugly however as the story unfolds. There was quite a lot of symbolism used in this film but I think it was used appropriately and in such a natural way... I mean, they were in a rural area. Of course, there would be predators flying and slithering around.
There was also a certain sense of spirituality in this film. The snake in the fields and at night seemed to symbolize a battle... one between good and evil. Also, Michele's chanting while on the dirt path on his way to rescue Fillippo reminded me of superstitions practiced in the Philippines... I remember how we, as youngsters, were taught by Filipino elders, a chant to be uttered to protect us from evil spirits as we walk about by ourselves in the dark...
Furthermore , it was heartbreaking to see how Michele slowly began to understand what was going on in his adult community. It was so sad to see how the adults in this child's community failed spectacularly in their moral obligation to nurture and bring up this child in the ideals of moral standards.
This movie was such a beautiful portrayal of lost innocence and of the discovery of moral integrity.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
