Having seen the trailer for the film, I was intrigued. If one doesn't catch an Italian film cycle, it's almost impossible to see a film from that country lately, even in a cosmopolitan city like New York. This film has just been released for a commercial run. Having seen "Mediterraneo" from the same director, Gabriele Salvatores, was another reason for taking a look at this movie.

The film depicts the horrors that Italy lived in the 70s with a wave of kidnappings. While a lot had political undertones, the fact remains that a lot of children were kidnapped for a ransom.

The idyllic way the film unfolds, with the children running freely in the wheat fields, is a sharp contrast of the mystery that is hidden, in a hole, by the abandoned house where they go to play. Michele, the boy at the center of the story, discovers the dark secret that will involve his own family and will end in a tragedy.

This is a story about friendship, loyalty and the realization of the ugliness behind what appears a serene, if poor, family life. Giuseppe Cristiano plays the young boy with conviction and makes us believe he is that boy presented in the story. It also speaks volumes how children interplay with others of their same age no matter whether they are rich, or poor.

The director is to be congratulated for dealing with the subject matter and making us care about a little boy that had the courage to save a life. We'll be looking forward other films from Mr. Salvatores, very soon.

In the field in the country of Italy, the ten years old Michele (Giuseppe Cristiano) accidentally finds a weird boy in a hole in an abandoned farmhouse. He gives water and feeds the boy; he finds his name, Fillipo (Mattia Di Pierro), they are of the same age and Michele becomes his friend. In his innocence, Michele finds the nasty secret hidden by his family about Fillipo.

"Io non ho Paura" was a great surprise for me. I have just watched this movie and I did not have any information about this original and sensitive low paced story of innocence and compassion. The screenplay is perfect, developing the characters and disclosing the secrets through the innocent eyes of a ten years old boy, having a sensational plot point, in a wonderful landscape and a very sentimental soundtrack. The direction and the cinematography are remarkable, and when Michele rides his bicycle at night, we can see the night creatures in the fields. The performances of Giuseppe Cristiano, in a beautiful and morally strong character, and Mattia Di Pierro, in the role of a defenseless victim, are awesome. This awarded "Io non ho Paura" is an unforgettable gem to be discovered by lovers of a great cinema. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Eu Não Tenho Medo" ("I Have No Fear")

I'M NOT SCARED, despite the thriller-ish premise, is a film that's all about friendship: a growing bond that develops between an Italian boy and the kidnapped child he finds being held to ransom in a filthy pit. In many ways, it's similar to the later WW2 film THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS, and viewing the two films side-by-side it's clear that the director of the latter production clearly mined this movie for inspiration.

Despite the praise lavished upon it, I found I'M NOT SCARED to be overblown and over-hyped, much like THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS. The central story of the friendship between the two boys is pretty dull, and given the nature of the premise not nearly enough is made of the repercussions. What incident does arise is muted and perfunctory, and I found it hard to like or care about any of the characters. The adults are all hateful, and the kids are sullen and rude. Even the kidnapped boy, with whom the viewer should easily empathise, seems slow-witted and unaware of his situation, which makes it hard for the viewer to sympathise with his plight.

The director certainly gets his mileage out of beautifully-framed shots of characters wandering through corn fields in the glorious summer sun, but overall there's little going on and virtually no meat on the bones of this atmospheric but lacking in substance movie. It's certainly not a film to remember.