A boy's own story in 'I'm Not Scared'

By Paul F. Agusta, Contributor, pfa0109@yahoo.com

There are times when the world of childhood and the realities of adult existence collide. The story told in the film Io Non Ho Paura (I'm Not Scared) by Italian director Gabriele Salvatores details one such event. Based on a novel by Niccolo Ammaniti, who also wrote the screenplay, this story was inspired by the real life kidnapping of a boy from Milan.

Michele, an average inquisitive eight year old living in an economically depressed agrarian community in rural Italy, is out riding on his bicycle in the countryside with friends one day when he strikes off on his own and makes a chilling discovery at an old abandoned house.

Exploring the property, he notices a sheet of metal, which seems to be covering a hole. He pulls back the cover and is startled to see a human foot poking from underneath a filthy blanket. He runs away, not sure what it is he has discovered.

Drawn back to the hole by his imaginative mind, Michele returns the next day to find what he believes to be a monster living there. He flees once more, back to the more familiar puzzle of his family existence.

His father has just returned from Milan, bringing with him two unsavory associates, one of whom takes over Michele's bedroom. The presence of the strangers casts a shadow over the impoverished household as Michele's mother recedes into submissive silence, serving meals and cleaning up after her husband and his guests.

That evening, the visitors switch on the television and take a strong interest in the news reports, among which is a video recording of a wealthy Milanese woman pleading for the return of her kidnapped child.

The ensuing events unfold to irreversibly reshape the psyche of the naive, curious Michele. He has discovered a secret, one he fears to share. He has also found a friend, one he fears to lose.

The beauty of the screenplay is that it never detours from Michele's perspective. Everything is seen and experienced through the innocent eyes of this child. As a child's mind wanders and wonders at the world from time to time, so the film sometimes veers from the core of the tale to simply contemplate the sun drenched countryside, or to take an avid interest in the shiny new American toy cars of a friend.

Although this may slow the flow of the story from the usual adrenaline inducing roller-coaster rides of Hollywood suspense movies, herein lies the brilliance of this film. Gabriele Salvatores places the viewers in the mind of the child and leaves them there to witness the dilemma of adult behavior through the perceptions of a young boy.

This method of storytelling is enhanced by the magically masterful cinematography of Italo Petriccione, whose camera becomes the eyes of the child and carries us through a world that inspires wonder and awe. The result of this camera work is such a carefully constructed composition of rich color and texture that it seems as if Petriccione were filling the screen with brushstrokes of paint, instead of merely refracting light through the lenses of his camera.

The original soundtrack composed by Ezio Bosso and Pepo Scherman appropriately translates every thought and emotion Michele experiences as he is forcefully propelled toward accelerated maturity.

This is a masterfully crafted piece of cinema, all of the appropriate elements set into all the right places, with nothing missing. All senses are satisfied, emotions evoked and all questions answered as the story unfolds. This film, among the offerings of JIFFest's closing day, is one that should not be missed.