Children of the damned

>> The Italian is a sad and striking
illustration of Russian street kids’ plight

by MATTHEW HAYS

If you’re feeling really depressed, and you want to stay that way, then The Italian is the movie for you.

It’s a beautifully shot, exquisitely rendered feature, a story that is just stunning in the degree of its sadness, even though it’s a fictionalized account. Filmmaker Andrei Kravchuk was inspired to make the film as he noticed the youth (both pre-teen and teen) homeless population growing in Russia; as well, he read a story about a young boy who learned to read while in an orphanage, then escaped and used his know-how to try to locate his mother.

This is an entirely haunting film, especially given the knowledge that so many children in Eastern Europe are facing problems as dire as this kid is. Vanya (played with depth by newcomer Kolya Spiridonov) is struggling with life in a dilapidated orphanage, but is offered an enviable out when a childless Italian couple arrive and are eager to adopt. Vanya sees the horrid things the other children must do to survive, from theft to begging to pumping gas to prostitution, but he doesn’t want the adoption. Instead, he’s intent upon stealing the carefully hidden file that has his mother’s last address, bolting from the orphanage and travelling to reunite with Mom.

Don’t go to this after a rich meal. It’s both stomach-churning and heart-wrenching. Not only does the based-on-a-true-story aspect of the film help to suspend our disbelief, the boy’s story becomes a terribly sad indication of just how low a post-Cold War Russia has slipped. What once was the hope of democracy is now home to droves of unwanted children, left to fend for themselves in horrific conditions. (I guess we could hope that the nation’s journalists will expose their plight, but they’re all being pushed out windows, shot or poisoned.)

Instead, we have Kravchuk’s remarkable film—amazingly, his feature directorial debut—effectively punctuated with a staunchly ambiguous ending. The Italian stands along René Clément’s brilliant 1952 film about the plight of children, Forbidden Games. And that’s no faint praise.

The Italian opens this Friday, April 13

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