Product Description

Miramax Home Entertainment presents I'M NOT SCARED, the suspenseful and compelling thriller about a young boy who discovers a shocking secret. This masterfully crafted, haunting film is directed by Gabriele Salvatores, director of the Academy Award(R) winning film "Mediterraneo" (Best Foreign Language Film, 1991). In I'M NOT SCARED, something sinister is lurking under the surface of 10-year old Michele's (Guiseppe Cristiano) idyllic summer. While the days in his remote southern Italian village are filled with the familiar routines of childhood, a chance discovery leads to a shocking revelation. Now, suddenly beyond the point-of-no-return, Michele digs further to find that even his own parents may be involved in a monstrous crime..

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19149 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2004-10-19
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Surround Sound, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: Italian
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 108 minutes

From The New Yorker
A stirring and beautifully made poetic thriller about the natural gallantry of a young boy. Michele (Giuseppe Cristiano), a frisky ten-year-old, is spending a carefree summer in the golden wheat fields of southern Italy when he finds something unaccountable-a tiny, pale creature kept captive in a pit near an abandoned farmhouse. He makes a bond with this ghost, who turns out to be a boy his own age, feeding him and taking him out for air. At the same time, Michele tries to penetrate the mysterious goings on at his house, where the adults, including the violent roughnecks his father brings home, quarrel viciously. Like René Clément's classic "Forbidden Games" (1952), the movie reveals the sordid behavior of adults as seen through the eyes of half-comprehending but pure-hearted children. The style is at times startlingly freewheeling, as if the events emerged from a child's dream, a storybook world of monsters and rescuers. Adapted by Niccol˜ Ammaniti and Francesca Marciano from Ammaniti's novel. Directed by Gabriele Salvatores; cinematography by Italo Petriccione. In Italian. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Amazing deep film
"I'm not scared" is the kind of film that gives you a headache afterwards from all the contemplation that it forces you into. You will not be able to stop thinking about the many questions and implications posed by this most troublesome film. It is an absolutely brilliant movie, almost ruinous in the depth and complexity of its underlying themes. "I'm not scared" is a story about a young Italian boy, but the movie is overwhelmingly mature and mesmerisingly developed.

Some of the other reviewers have very unscrupulously given away the main "surprise" of the film. Since the discovery is half the fun, I would not deprive you of the pleasure by spoiling it for you. Thus I am forced to "describe around" the movie without actually giving away the most crucial parts of the plot.

Suffice to say that the story revolves around a young, naive, but pure-hearted boy Michele, who is growing up in a small rural Italian village. He makes a shocking discovery and soon finds himself entangled in a world he does not fully understand. His parents, and perhaps the entire village, harbour an unspeakable secret. There are many important themes in the movie. Perhaps the most obvious one is Michele's premature coming-of-age; the end of innocence. Michele is forced by fate to deal with tough moral issues which no boy his age should have to deal with.

Disillusionment is another major theme. Every child begins his/her life believing his parents to be infallible and all-knowing, all-protecting. If one makes some grave mistake, surely mommy or daddy will fix it and make it better. Every child must necessarily go through the potentially traumatic discovery of his/her parents' imperfection as part of growing up. Michele is forced to experience this on a devastating scale. As he feels the world he thought he knew crumble above him, he is forced to slowly accept that he needs to personally step up to the plate.

The final, and in my opinion perhaps the most important theme, is: "what does it mean to be a Hero"? This is a favourite theme in movies, across a wide variety of genres. Films as different as the "Spiderman" series and Jet Li's "Hero" each give their own interpretation. In "I'm Not Scared", the question is only hinted at, and the answer is only given in muted voices and subtle suggestions. Yet it pervades the entire story. The young actor who plays Michele brilliantly portrays his character's confusion, frustration, and ultimate acceptance (of what he must do) as he tries to grapple with and understand the great evils going on over his head. The world of grownups has never looked dirtier.

However, I don't think the answer is something as simple as "do what your heart tells you" or "do the right thing"; it's much more nuanced. Almost none of the characters in the movie are one-dimensional or "black-and-white". Michele's mother is clearly just as trapped as her son in a plan not of her deivising. Michele's father is an even more fascinating and morally ambiguous character.

The ending of the film is somewhat predictable and perhaps too poignant. However, there is a completeness, a 'unity' to it that brings the movie full circle. Something about the story demands this ending; none other would do. One thing is for certain; by the end of the movie, Michele has indeed become a Hero.

remarkable
Great film with a haunting soundtrack. It's too bad these types of movies aren't typical of US film makers. The one thing I've always appreciated about foreign film makers is their honest portrayl of children and childhood....no fear of sending the wrong message to a paranoid culture. If you love boys or boyhood and can remember your own childhood you'll love this film. It's endearing, suspensful, and stays with you. It's definitely one of the best of the year...foreign or otherwise, and I'm an avid moviegoer with little tolerance for bad films. Check it out!

I'm Not Scared
I'm Not Scared is an Italian movie categorized as a thriller. The protagonist is a young boy who discovers a terrible secret in an abandoned house. Despite his family's involvement, he is compelled to do what he feels he must. Beautifully filmed, this movie will move you from terror to sadness and back again. It is extremely well-written and the children are amazing actors. The best foreign film I've seen since Amelie.