Il Ladro di Bambini
The Stolen Children opens in Milan, where Rosetta, an 11-year-old girl, and her brother, Luciano, a year younger, live with their mother, who forces the girl to work as a child prostitute. This element of the story, tragic and unsavory, is not dwelled on; the movie properly begins when the two children are taken away from the mother and placed in the care of Antonio (Enrico Lo Verso), a young policeman, whose job is to take them to a children’s home.
The cop doesn’t much relish the job, especially after his partner cooks up a scam where Antonio will do the work while the partner takes an unscheduled vacation. Antonio believes he doesn’t care for children – and the kids return the favor. After years of emotional and physical abuse, they are withdrawn, sullen and suspicious.
But that will change during the course of the story. The children are turned away from the church-run children’s home, apparently out of fear that their past might infect the other students. Naively taking the case into his own hands, without authorization, Antonio next takes them to Sicily. As they travel all the way down the length of Italy, stopping even for a feast at the home of Antonio’s parents, a bond grows among the three travelers.
The Stolen Children (Italian: Il ladro di bambini) is a 1992 Italian film directed by Gianni Amelio. The film was selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 65th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Awards and Nominations
1992 Cannes Film Festival – Grand Prize of the Jury, Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
European Film Awards – Best Film
6 David di Donatello – Best Film, Best Director, Best Producer, Best Editing, Best Music, Special David for their child acting (Giuseppe Ieracitano & Valentina Scalici
2 Nastro d’Argento – Best Director, Best Screenplay
The film was nominated for the prestigious Grand Prix of the Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics.
The Stolen Children – Il Ladro di Bambini (1993)
Directed by: Gianni Amelio
Starring: Enrico Lo Verso, Valentina Scalici, Giuseppe Ieracitano, Florence Darel, Marina Golovine, Vitalba Andrea, Massimo De Lorenzo, Renato Carpentieri
Screenplay by: Gianni Amelio, Sandro Petraglia, Stefano Rulli, Giorgia Cecere
Production Design by: Andrea Crisanti
Cinematography by: Tonino Nardi, Renato Tafuri
Film Editing by: Simona Paggi
Costume Design by: Gianna Gissi, Luciana Morosetti
Makeup Department: Esmé Sciaroni
Set Decoration by: Giuseppe M. Gaudino
Music by: Franco Piersanti
Distributed by: The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release Date: March 3, 1993
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