Il ladro di bambini

This movie is the story of a journey, a common theme among movie-makers. In this film a policeman is charged with the transfer of two children (aged 11 and 9)from Milano to a Home for Children in Sicily. It is based on a newspaper report which gives authenticity to the story. Remarkable performances are given by the children who amazingly have had no previous experience in film-acting. Eye contact between the main characters is particularly powerful. The policeman also acts convincingly. He finds the resentful children a difficult pair to control. The 11-year old has a secret(about her life of prostitution) and her young brother is an asthmatic sadly in need of his father who has abandoned them. There are some tender scenes in the film where the policeman introduces the children to his happy extended family, where the policeman gives the boy some swimming lessons in the sea and where they agree to find each other when the boy leaves the Home at 15 years of age. A simple theme but so enthralling.