The Italian
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Movie Reviews of The Italian
Movie Review: Beautifully moving story of determination
Summary: 4 Stars
Italianetz, or The Italian, is a moving story about a six-year old orphan named Vanya (the painfully adorable Kolya Spiridonov). When Vanya is told that he will be adopted by a loving couple from Italy, he becomes the envy of all the other orphans. He's excited himself to begin his new life, until the day the orphanage is paid a visit by another recently adopted orphan's mother. When Vanya has a conversation with the woman at a busstop, he feels his desire to find his own mother growing inside him.
As Vanya sets out to find his mother, he must first learn to read, in order to read his own personal file and see if he can find any information there. Another orphan, a young prostitute (Olga Shuvalova) teaches him to read against the wishes of the older kids. Once Vanya finds the address of a previous orphanage he was in, he sets out on an adventure of self-discovery. The orphanage managers try to find Vanya, following him across the country, but he will not be deterred in finding out the truth about his own mother before he is adopted.
The Italian is a film about the kindness, and unkindness, of strangers. The various people that Vanya meets along his journey reflect the different aspects of our society. Also, the point should be made, that adoption is not viewed in a negative light in this film. To the contrary, all the characters make it very clear that an orphan should feel very lucky to be adopted by a caring family. And the orphanage itself is shown as a sort of co-op where the older children take care of the younger children as miniature parental figures.
Kolya Spiridonov turns in an amazingly strong performance for such a young actor, and he is really the foundation of the entire film, though the rest of the actors are solid as well. We get so few Russian films in the United States that the fact that this movie is for sale at all should tip off most viewers that it's probably a high-quality film. That expectation doesn't disappoint.
Movie Review: The Human Spirit Triumphs In The Midst of Hardship
Summary: 4 Stars
THE ITALIAN tells the story of Vanya Solntsov, a small boy living in a Russian orphanage, played endearingly by Koyla Spirinodov. As the film begins, we meet Vanya who is to be adopted by a couple from Italy, whence comes his nickname "the Italian." We do not know if the couple is anxious to adopt a child, or whether they have other motives, but the adoption process seems more similar to a purchase than anything else. Vanya seems content with his lot until he sees the mother looking for her child. It turns out that it is the mother of a child who once lived at the same orphanage that has been adopted. Fearful that his own mother may one day return to find him, he decides to escape from the orphanage before the adoption takes place and search for her rather than be adopted by the Italian couple. His experiences make up the core of the film.
Vanya's pluck is what keeps the film moving, but viewing the film is not without its emotional challenges. It is a stark film at best. While it shows the triumph of the human spirit, it also shows hardship and tragedy, beginning with the orphanage itself. It is a leftover relic of the Soviet Union, and that children are forced to live in such conditions is at best deplorable. We see the workers who may be profiting from arranging for "adoptions," they are not one dimensional evil people. To some extent they do have the interests of the children somewhere in their hearts. For American viewers, it shows a world we'd hope could never exist, but know in fact does exist.
For me, both Vanya's innocence and intelligence makes the film compelling. It also raises awareness of the plight of children in a dramatic and non-preachy manner.
Movie Review: Looking For My Mother: Strong Drama about a 6-Year-Old Boy and Invincible Will
Summary: 4 Stars
The 2005 Russian movie "Italianetz" ("The Italian") is about a little boy named Vanya abandoned at birth. The first part of the story is set in a rundown orphanage situated in a small Russian village where one day an Italian couple arrives, looking for a child to adapt. The couple, who is kind and probably wealthy, decides to adapt a bullied boy Vanya, who, other children naturally consider, is very lucky.
But the 6-year-old boy does not look so happy. Other children, the warden and the "Madam" all say he should be thankful for his luck, but Vanya disagrees because He knows his real mother may come back to him. And if she should fail to come, he should go out and find her before he leaves for Italy. While arrangements are being done, Vanya leaves the orphanage alone, believing that he can meet his mother again.
"The Italian" may remind you of the world of Charles Dickens - especially "Oliver Twist" though the entire film's tone is more somber and less comic. Like Dickens the innocence of the protagonist is sometimes overshadowed by the convincing portrayals of other supporting characters, all with fine performances. And like Dickens there is a social message about the conditions of modern-day Russia under the moving story of a determined boy, but the message never becomes preachy.
Perhaps the film could have explored the meaning of Vanya's choice; or perhaps you will want to know more about other characters (especially the girl who helps Vanya). Still "The Italian" is a success as a drama about the invincible will, and I am sure you will not be disappointed.
Movie Review: Once in a Lifetime
Summary: 4 Stars
In the heart of every orphan's life there is the shroud of mystery concerning one's biological parents. So strong is this desire that six-year-old Russian, Vanya (Kolya Spiradonov) is reluctant to be adopted by potential Italian foster parents visiting his orphanage. With envy coming from every child and great pressure from the Madam and other directors, his inquest seems daunting at best from the start. Still, one night at a bus stop, he meets into a woman who grieves over giving up her son, forced by poverty and financial pressures society place upon her. Once he can see her vodka induced tears, he wonders if he, too, has a real mother crying for him somewhere. With an approximate 5,000 Euros on his head for the institution, he stubbornly hits the trail for a quest for his true identity.
`The Italian,' a Russian import, works so well because the boy's actions seem so real. His naïve bewilderment goes along with the simple ways in which he follows his investigation. Besides naturally unfolding the frigid climate and the rough existence before our eyes--even of post-Communist Russia--the story targets our heartstrings with a lovable, young protagonist who truly has had enough hard knocks to already have street smarts in his small, mean life. The acting is so laudably casual that we really feel like we're watching live scenes rather than a drama. 'The Italian' has the effect of melting the core Russian existence, whose human struggle is presented as not much different than their winter weather. It's also good at melting our own hearts as well.
Movie Review: Compelling Movie , worth viewing, but biased
Summary: 4 Stars
Worth viewing for a glimpse into life in Russia and the plight of Russian orphans and birthmothers.
The movie does not inform that 730,000 children live in Russian orphanages The statistics are grim for those not adopted. They are released into society at age 16 to fend for themselves. 70-80% do not survive. The suicide rate is 20%. The rate of alcoholism, crime, prostitution, or drug use is even higher.
20,000 run away every year as did Vanya in this film.
We adopted two children from two different orphanages in two different regions and saw none of the corruption or greed that is shown in this film or in the media in general. We had good agencies.
It does a disservice to the kids who desperately need homes to present adoption as corrupt and the adoptive families as trivially as they were portrayed here.
But the movie does show the plight of birthmothers and the misperceptions and biases of people in Russia and the fears of kids themselves.
As for who is a "real" mother: the birthmother who gave her child a better life or kept him from starving to death by taking him to the orphanage AND the mother who travels around the world to adopt him as God has given her the ability and circumstances to do are both real mothers.