Gianni Amelio's oblation to neo-realism. The title recalls especially De Sica's Ladri di Biciclette (Bicycle Thief) along with his I Bambini Ci Guardano (The Children Are Watching Us), as does the employment of a morose child -- two of them, in fact -- for assault on the viewer's heartstrings: a child-labor violation of a simply different degree, not kind, than the employment of a morose child for prostitution (in the opening scene). The deliberate -- make that overdeliberate -- pace and the spare, squared-up or slightly slanted compositions forestall emotional sloppiness. And there's nice attention to ambient sound: radios, traffic, surf. With Enrico Lo Verso, Valentina Scalici, Giuseppe Ieracitano. (1992) — Duncan Shepherd
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