AIo non ho paura (I’m Not Scared)
Rated R; Directed by Gabriele Salvatores; Starring Giuseppe Cristiano, Mattia Di
Pierro, Adriana Conserva & Fabio Tetta
Reviewed by Dan Stoffel
Italian with English Subtitles
Michele (Cristiano) is a young boy just like the others he plays with in the Italian
countryside. Like his friends, his family isn’t well off, but they find things to do, and their
parents are nice enough… a little rough around the edges, but this is rural Italy in the late
1970’s, not the tourist-ridden, glamorous Italy we know from postcards.
One day, however, Michele stumbles upon a frightening secret. Whom should he tell?
What should he do with his discovery? And how will it change him?
One of the most wonderful things about browsing the Foreign & Independent section of
the local video store is to discover movies of which you know absolutely nothing, and
that is why I won’t give away Michele’s secret or any other details about “I’m Not
Scared.” Often when I write a review, I struggle with the apprehension that I may be
divulging too much of a movie’s plot. Usually, though, my worries fade as I simply
consider how much has already been disclosed in previews and trailers, celebrity
interviews, behind-the-scenes-see-it-here-first snippets on cable, and so on. In fact, I
sometimes feel I might be able to write a passable review without having to drive into
Flagstaff and plop my butt down at the theater… I could piece plenty together from the
movie’s media blitz.
But when you begin to thumb through the titles in the artsy-fartsy section, the movies
with those annoying subtitles (“You mean I have to watch the movie and read at the same
time?”), you’ll discover little gems like “I’m Not Scared.” You haven’t seen the preview
while waiting for the latest Ben Stiller movie to start, and you haven’t caught young
Giuseppe Cristiano on Letterman. You don’t know the entire story… in fact, you don’t
know diddly. But hey, the jewel case looks interesting, and it looks like it picked up some
film festival honors, so why not take a chance?
I was glad that I took a chance with “I’m Not Scared.” Although the packaging bills it as
“Hypnotic… Scary!” it’s really just a well-shot, well-acted little film about a boy’s
struggle with his own loss of innocence and the dilemma of what to do with dangerous
knowledge. The pacing is efficient; the acting, especially that of the young main
characters, is natural and glitz-free; the music is effective. More than anything, it is a
portrait of the virtues of childhood, and an illustration that even though the
transformation to adulthood might open up new opportunities and understanding, in many
ways we lose just as much as we gain.
So try walking past the “Newest Hits!” and “Most Rented!” shelves once in awhile, and
pick up a movie you’ve never heard of, even if it has those subtitle things. You may be
pleasantly surprised.