InsaneJournal

Movie: Io Non Ho Paura / I'm Not Scared

I didn't initially plan to write about this movie, but then parlophone suggested that I do, and so here it is. She is also the person who first recommended it and the reason I watched it.



Director: Gabriele Salvatores; Cast: Giuseppe Cristiano, Mattia Di Pierro; Screenplay: Niccolò Ammaniti (based on his novel of the same name)

The story: It's the 70's in Italy – time of turmoil and kidnappings. It's summer, the time for fun and leisure, for exploring the endless fields and for uncomplicated games. But this is also the summer that changes the life of two boys.
10-tear-old Michele has vivid imagination and nice personality. For him this summer is no different from any other until the day he discovers the Boy in the Hole. The Boy in the Hole, as later Michele discovers, is Filippo, son of a wealthy family that is held hostage till ransom is paid for his life. For some reason Michele starts to take care for Filippo and thus begins their tale.

My impressions: The first thing that caught me in this movie was the music. I love strings and the soundtrack is mostly strings that create eerie and tense atmosphere that really resounds within the viewer. The second was the silence. There's no excess of dialogue or sound-effects. The movie relies on mood and visuals rather than plot or action. In a typically European style the movie leaves a lot unsaid and un-showed. We don't hear Michele (whose POV the movie is told from) think about what's going on around him or in his soul. We hear but a few side characters' thoughts on the matter of Filippo's kidnapping. Almost no attention is paid to moral issues or right vs. wrong. The story is only about a friendship budding through adversity and confusion, about personal growing and sort-of coming of age.

The colours of the movie are sparse, obviously, sought effect. There's mostly the yellow/ochre of the ripe wheat fields with small red splotches of poppies; the endless blue of the summer sky; the bright red of Michele's t-shirt; the darkness of Filippo's hole and the dull gray of the blanket that is his only clothing. It all makes for a very economical visual treat but in fact it is all the more impressive for that reason.

The acting. Michele and Filippo are spot on. There are scenes, where one doesn't see the age of the actors, only the emotions of their characters and that means that they have done their job as they should. I just love how there were no excessive mimics or gestures in attempt to get reaction from the audience. It is another kind of silence that speaks louder.

Final thoughts. This is not the kind of movie made for the audience that goes to the theatre to eat popcorn and snog in the back rows. It's not even one of the movies that one can only really appreciate when seen on a big screen with top-notch hi-tech sound system. This is one of those movies that are best seen alone when one can really immerse oneself in the experience.

Personal rating: 7.5/10 (it's not OMG-I-have-to-see-it-again, and it is not a stunning piece that changes movie history or a person's entire views of life, but it is a strong movie non the less)