Absolutely brilliant

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Terribly sad neo-realist tale of a young cop assigned to take two kids to an orphanage, and the bond that grows between them, with unexpected results. Perhaps a bit manipulative in the middle (the damaged kids respond a little too quickly to the cop's kindness), and the lead actor has his awkward moments along with some very strong ones (all three leads were non-professional actors). But the two kids are remarkable for their ages, and the uncompromised honesty of the ending makes up for a few convenient twists, and 'easy' transitions. Overall a powerful and moving film full of humanity, it's shocking and sad to think this modern classic is essentially unavailable on video in the United States.

I saw this movie almost ten years ago, and once or twice since then on TV, and I have never forgotten it. It is both heartbreaking and uplifting, sensitively directed and beautifully performed. The relationship between the young carabiniere and the two children he's escorting evolves so quietly and naturally that it never seems forced, as relationships so often seem in movies. I hesitate to cite specific scenes for fear of spoilage, but there is one moment in particular, when Antonio and young Luciano are swimming in the ocean, that perfectly illustrates the growing trust between them. The scene is quite simply breathtaking.I wish this movie were available on DVD, because it deserves to be seen by more people. I would add it to my collection in a heartbeat if I could. Instead, I can only hope that some local theater or art museum will screen it someday as part of a film festival.A truly unforgettable movie.

The child actors are supreme and the plot development feels real from beginning to end.There are very few films that can make us confront a difficult issue without resorting to maudlin tears or some other form of emotional manipulation. This is one of them -- no Hollywood treatment here.And I like the fact that the trip is a journey -- both physically and spiritually. It starts in the north of Italy and leads us progressively towards its southern extremity in Sicily. As the children migrate to the South, our hopes and hearts warm as we come to expect a new emotional climate for them. As with any film intending to make a serious comment on the devestating nature of child abuse, something intervenes to prove to us that our hopes are premature.... This film betrays no compromise in its portrayal of innocence lost and regained and lost once again. The scene at the end with the girl comforting her brother is one of the most poignant I know in film.I would put this film at the top of a narrow list of films addressing childhood trauma (including "Salaam Bombay!" and "Alice in the Cities"). But the perfection of the child actors, the tremendous care of the storytelling (director Gianni Amelio co-authored the screenplay), and the generous, ambulant scenery make this film a standout that has seldom been rivaled.

This movie is the story of a journey, a common theme among movie-makers. In this film a policeman is charged with the transfer of two children (aged 11 and 9)from Milano to a Home for Children in Sicily. It is based on a newspaper report which gives authenticity to the story. Remarkable performances are given by the children who amazingly have had no previous experience in film-acting. Eye contact between the main characters is particularly powerful. The policeman also acts convincingly. He finds the resentful children a difficult pair to control. The 11-year old has a secret(about her life of prostitution) and her young brother is an asthmatic sadly in need of his father who has abandoned them. There are some tender scenes in the film where the policeman introduces the children to his happy extended family, where the policeman gives the boy some swimming lessons in the sea and where they agree to find each other when the boy leaves the Home at 15 years of age. A simple theme but so enthralling.