The Italian

Star Review

Suffused with the twin spirits of Dickens and neo-realism, tele-veteran Andrei Kravchuk's debut feature is a perceptive study of identity and possession in an age when everything is for sale, from trust and morality to teenage girls and six year-old orphans. Recalling the resolute innocence displayed by Enzo Staiola in Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves, Kolya Spiridonov excels as the tyke who is about to be sold to an Italian couple by orphanage matron Maria Kuznetsova when he discovers that his mother is still alive and embarks upon an epic journey to find her. Taking his inspiration from a true story, Kravchuk lays bear the corruption and criminality of Putin's Russia, whether depicting the junior exploitation ring operating from inside the orphanage or the poverty that Spiridonov witnesses on his travels. Yet while Vladimir Svetorazov's interiors are as forbidding as the bleak street scenes are dismaying, cinematographer Alexander Burov offers a hint of optimism in the vistas that suggest the magnificence of a country whose preoccupation with troubles past and present jeopardises its future.

David Parkinson on 31st March 2008

View all 94 of David Parkinson’s reviews

[ Show Film Description ]

Film Description

Vanya, an abandoned 6 year-old living in a rundown orphanage in a small Russian village is adopted by an Italian family. However, he is curious as to the whereabouts of his own mother, and with the assistance of the older children, escapes and travels across the country to find her, while pursued by adoption agents. A poignant story about the world of adoption that has drawn comparisons with Zavattini and De Sica.

[ Show Star Review ]

Ratings for this DVD

Average Rating
Log in to place your vote!

Film Details

Cast

Kolya Spiridonov, Maria Kuznetsova

Technical Details