The Stolen Children: Difference between revisions

| name = The Stolen Children

| image = Il ladro di bambini (film).jpg

| director = [[Gianni Amelio]]
| writer = [[Gianni Amelio]]<br />[[Sandro Petraglia]]<br />[[Stefano Rulli]]<br />[[Giorgia Cecere]]

| starring = {{Plainlist|

| cinematography = [[Tonino Nardi]]<br /> Renato Tafuri

| producer = = [[Angelo Rizzoli Jr]]

| editing = [[Simona Paggi]]

| distributor = D.A.R.C (Italy)<br />[[The Samuel Goldwyn Company]] in (USA, 1993)

| released = {{film date|1992|4|10|df=yes}}

| music = [[Franco Piersanti]]

| runtime = 114 minutes

| country = Italy

| language = Italian

'''''The Stolen Children''''' ({{lang-it|'''Il ladro di bambini'''}}) is a 1992 Italian film directed by [[Gianni Amelio]]. The film was selected as the Italian entry for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[65th Academy Awards]], but was not accepted as a nominee.<ref>Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences</ref><ref name="Variety">{{Cite webmagazine|url=https://variety.com/1992/film/news/foreign-oscar-entries-submitted-101796/ |title=Foreign Oscar entries submitted |accessdateaccess-date=2015 SeptemberJanuary 20152021 |workmagazine=[[Daily Variety]]|date=December 3, 1992|page=19|last=Marx|first=Andy}}</ref>

11-year-old Rosetta and 9-year old Luciano live with their mother in the housing projects of [[Milan]]. [[Internal migration|Internal migrants]] from [[Sicily]], they face prejudice in their adopted city. Their mother is unemployed and their father has long since abandoned them. For the past two years, the mother has hired her daughter out as a prostitute. The authorities raid the place and arrest the mother and a client. The children are destined to be sent to a Catholic orphanage in [[Civitavecchia]], near [[Rome]]. Two [[carabinieri]], the rookie Antonio and an older man named Grignani are assigned the thankless task of escorting the children there by train. Grignani bailswalks out on Antonio at [[Bologna]], leaving Antonio to complete the task alone.

After a long train and coach journey, the trio arrive unannounced at Antonio's sister's home in [[Calabria]], which doubles as a restaurant. There they celebrate a young girl's [[First Communion]]. Antonio tells his family that Rosetta and Luciano are the children of one of his superiors. Given a stylish age-appropriate summer dress to wear, Rosetta plays and socializes with other girls her age, while Luciano is befriended by Antonio's grandmother, who gives him a photo of a six-year-old Antonio in a [[Zorro]] costume. Their fun, however, is short-lived as one of the guests at the party recognizes Rosetta from an article in a tabloid magazine and exposes her past to the other guests. Rosetta, humiliated and ashamed, dashes from the house. Antonio runs after her and comforts her, saying the woman is an idiot and it doesn't matter what she thinks. Antonio has cracked through Rosetta's tough exterior and now feels a genuine sense of compassion for her and her brother, rather than a simple sense of duty.

Antonio, who has acquired an old [[Fiat 128|Fiat]], agrees to remove Rosetta from the place immediately, and drives them to the ferry terminal at the [[Strait of Messina]]. On the ferry, he finally has a conversation with Luciano. Rather than driving directly to the orphanage in [[Gela]], he takes another detour, taking them to a cheap hotel near [[Marina di Ragusa]] where he rents two adjoining rooms.

The next day, they visit the beach, where he teaches Luciano to swim, forming a close bond with him. There, they meet two young French women, who take a liking to Rosetta. The five of them drive to [[Noto]] and visit the [[Noto Cathedral]]. One of the tourists gives Rosetta her camera, which is then snatched from her. Antonio chases down the thief and arrests him, taking him to the local carabiniereCarabiniere station.

At the station, one of the tourists learns of the circumstancesbackground of the children, and insensitively reportstalks about it towith her friend. When Rosetta picks upoverhears the word "prostitute" andher immediatelyfriendly breaksdemeanour off all friendship withtowards the women, returning to her previous sulleninstantly mannerdisappears. Antonio is accused of kidnapping and abusing the children, and failure to follow orders. He is forced to hand in his warrant card pending a court martial. After several hours they are all released.

* [[Valentina Scalici]] - Rosetta

* [[Giuseppe Ieracitano]] - Luciano

* [[Marina Golovine]] - Nathalie

* [[Fabio Alessandrini]] - Grignani

* [[Agostino Zumbo]] - Priest

* [[Vitalba Andrea]] - Antonio's Sister

* [[Massimo De Lorenzo]] - Papaleo

* [[Celeste Brancato]] - Girl at Dinner

* [[Santo Santonocito]] - Carabiniere

* [[Maria Pia Di Giovanni]] - Mother of Rosetta and Luciano

* [[Lello Serao]] - Arrested Man

The producers originally wanted to cast [[Antonio Banderas]] in the lead role, with Enrico Lo Verso's southern Italian accent dubbed over, but director Gianni Amelio insisted that Lo Verso was perfect for the role.<ref>[http://trovacinema.repubblica.it/attori-registi/enrico-lo-verso/185648/ Enrico Lo Verso profile at TrovaCinema], [[La Repubblica]]</ref> Influenced by the [[Italian neorealist]] cinematic tradition, Amelio cast non-actors for the majority of the roles, including the two child leads. Adding to the sense of authenticity, all filming was done on location. [[Principal photography]] began on May 6, 1991, and ended on September 12, 1991.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.turner.com/tcmdb/title/91443/Stolen-Children-The/misc-notes.html|title=The Stolen Children (1992) - Misc Notes |website=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=23 March 2020}}</ref>

The Italian title ''Il ladro di bambini'' literally translates as "The child thief", an ironic reference to the fact that in taking the children on an unauthorised journey, Antonio has technically kidnapped them. It is also a nod to [[Vittorio de Sica]]'s neorealist classic ''[[Ladri di biciclette]]''.

[[Category:1990s drama filmsroad movies]]

[[Category:Italian filmsdrama road movies]]

[[Category:Italian1990s dramaItalian-language films]]