The Stolen Children (1992)

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A young carabiniere is asked to transport two young children from the north of Italy to the south--the opposite of the usual migration of souls in that land. The reason is that the eleven-year-old girl and her brother are left without parents and kicked out of their "institution" because the girl was sold as a prostitute by her mother for two years. The man who goes with them is the usual lonely adult stuck on a road trip with children he doesn't understand, but this is no "Are We There Yet?" because the children are deeply damaged and searching for family, and the man has to deal with his own nomadism.The road is, in fact, hardly ever far from view/sound. It intercuts through the frame, the story, and even the sound. While the three characters travel, the instability of modern (or post-modern) Italy is shown in some pretty stunning displays of blocking by the director. Meanwhile, society, capitalism, and Catholicism are deeply criticized, and the characters' attempts to build and found a family are met with equal resistance from institution and law, and the pure prejudice of others. The title'd have you believe that the carabiniere stole the children, but the children were stolen from their childhood long before the movie starts. All that's left for them is each other, and the task of this drama is to get them to realize that at the sacrifice of a young man who was ill-prepared to handle them but ends up giving them a great gift of kindness.--PolarisDiB

This is one of the best films of all time. The story is heartbreaking: an 11 year-old girl has been forced into prostitution by her mother. When the police arrest the mother, Rosetta and her little brother Luciano (who is 9) must be taken to a children's home in the south of Italy. A young Carabiniere named Antonio is assigned the task of taking them from Milan to Sicilly, even though he's barely more than a child himself. The journey takes this mismatched threesome to Antonio's home province, where he re-unites briefly with his sister and his old granny, before Rosetta is recognized from a magazine cover, and shunned. The growing tenderness among the three young people is the essence of the story. The girl, although only 11, conveys the bitterness of adulthood through her ineffably sad eyes. She knows so much more about life than her 19 year-old policeman, yet without any seedy sexual implications, he comes to teach her through his tender care that there's more to life than sorrow. Luciano is a beautiful child, whose adoration of the soldier/cop is delicately and warmly depicted. Only The 400 Blows and Forbidden Games have captured the ache of childhood as well. The director has used stunning compositions and lingering takes of the Italian countryside that make the story resonate beyond its intimate canvas. The acting is brilliant. I suppose the only reason this film has not been released on DVD is it's controversial subject matter, which is a shame, because that shunning is what the film is about. The Italian title is Il Ladro di Bambini. Don't miss it!

Amelio and Enrico lo Verso compenetrate perfectly. I believe is one of the most humanistic movies I have seen in a long time. The performance of the actors is great and the story is simple but very powerful. There is beautiful line that can be seen how the Enrico and the kids gel along the, movie and it is very interesting.As another person said and I agree, it is one of the best child performances I have ever seen. Excellent.

i have seen many and i mean many many movies but this still is my all time favorite even above great classics like "Godfather" or Shawshank redemption.Why the movie is so good? the great special effects? NO! there aren't one, the Action No there isn't any action. the reason! this is the most sincere movie ever made.It's the beautiful story of two children 8 and 11 who are placed out of there home when their mother is arrested for selling her daughter as whore. the children team up with a goodhearted policeman (Enrico LO Verso)who must guide them and bring them to a good orphanage. as the story goes by the 3 people more and more grow tho each others. This is the story of friendship trust and faith and human compassion.Hearthwarming and Unforgettable