I'm Not Scared

The stark beauty and deceptive serenity of the Sicilian landscape, evocatively captured here in luminous widescreen images, serve as an ironic counterpoint to a story of innocence betrayed in this mesmerizing coming-of-age tale from Gabriele Salvatores (Mediterraneo). At the center of the story, set in the summer of 1978, is a gangly 10-year-old named Michele (Giuseppe Cristiano), who stumbles upon a bedraggled boy chained in a hidden cavern near a deserted farmhouse. Befriending the child, Michele brings him food and water and even removes him from his prison to frolic briefly in the fields, with the result that the shy, terrified youngster gradually rallies from his depression. The critical moment comes when Michele learns that his new friend is Filippo (Mattia Di Pierro), the kidnapped son of a wealthy Milanese couple, and that his parents--indeed all the adults in his village--are implicated in the crime. How he reacts in the face of this shocking revelation is the crux of this lyrical thriller's intense final reel. One of those rare films that--like Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter--powerfully conveys the bafflement of a child encountering a mysterious, dangerous adult world, I'm Not Scared is a brilliantly constructed cinematic dream--hazy, atmospheric, and almost operatic in style. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)