2008 Woodie Awards
IFS: 'The Italian' follows boy's journey
Gabriel Guerrero
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
It's raining in an alley in Russia and a little boy in a brown suit jacket, his left arm bleeding, brandishes a broken bottle in a fearsomely threatening fashion.
There's no doubt he will cut you if you take a step closer.
His name is Vanya (Koyla Spiridonov) and he is the most tenacious six-year-old you will ever meet.
In "The Italian," directed by Andrei Kravchuk, the story of the young orphan boy driven to find his mother at any cost is executed with precision and sincerity. To his friends, Vanya is known as the Italian due to his adoption by an Italian couple in the first minutes of the film. However, while the adoption papers are filed in the weeks that follow, Vanya's interest is peaked in reference to the identity of his mother who he has never met.
With a will composed of iron, it is no wonder Vanya accepts the task of finding his mother in the blink of an eye despite the consequences of his actions and the obstacles in his path. Along the way, Vanya is at the mercy of strangers who both aid and hinder his progress toward the boy's ultimate objective.
However, through his gentle demeanor, Vanya proves capable of bringing out the best in people.
The film's score, consisting mainly of a slow procession of solitary xylophone notes, offers nostalgia based tones, bringing to mind images of a mother reading a story to her child.
This story is easily a contemporary fairy tale, complete with the main villainess belonging to the evil-stepmother archetype, as well as the presence of the indomitable hero and his glorious quest.
At such a young age, actor Spiridonov is an extremely talented little boy. His portrayal of the film's height-impaired-hero is uplifting and genuine.
The supporting cast of this film is well thought out and plausible, from the orphanage director who idolizes Yuri Gagarin to the villainess driven by capitalist aims to find Vanya.
The orphanage is an important character through the beginning of the film. Its dilapidated state explicates the lives of the children who live there and the lack of hope they all share.
Overall, this film made me very grateful that I was fortunate enough to be born with loving parents and a roof over my head.
I would recommend this film to any person who needs a little reality check about how good they have it.
With all this in mind, I promote you to get a flask of vodka and enjoy this film. This film is brilliant and will leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling all over.
Or is that the vodka?
- Gabriel Gurrero is a senior English major and The Mirror's IFS columnist.
There's no doubt he will cut you if you take a step closer.
His name is Vanya (Koyla Spiridonov) and he is the most tenacious six-year-old you will ever meet.
In "The Italian," directed by Andrei Kravchuk, the story of the young orphan boy driven to find his mother at any cost is executed with precision and sincerity. To his friends, Vanya is known as the Italian due to his adoption by an Italian couple in the first minutes of the film. However, while the adoption papers are filed in the weeks that follow, Vanya's interest is peaked in reference to the identity of his mother who he has never met.
With a will composed of iron, it is no wonder Vanya accepts the task of finding his mother in the blink of an eye despite the consequences of his actions and the obstacles in his path. Along the way, Vanya is at the mercy of strangers who both aid and hinder his progress toward the boy's ultimate objective.
However, through his gentle demeanor, Vanya proves capable of bringing out the best in people.
The film's score, consisting mainly of a slow procession of solitary xylophone notes, offers nostalgia based tones, bringing to mind images of a mother reading a story to her child.
This story is easily a contemporary fairy tale, complete with the main villainess belonging to the evil-stepmother archetype, as well as the presence of the indomitable hero and his glorious quest.
At such a young age, actor Spiridonov is an extremely talented little boy. His portrayal of the film's height-impaired-hero is uplifting and genuine.
The supporting cast of this film is well thought out and plausible, from the orphanage director who idolizes Yuri Gagarin to the villainess driven by capitalist aims to find Vanya.
The orphanage is an important character through the beginning of the film. Its dilapidated state explicates the lives of the children who live there and the lack of hope they all share.
Overall, this film made me very grateful that I was fortunate enough to be born with loving parents and a roof over my head.
I would recommend this film to any person who needs a little reality check about how good they have it.
With all this in mind, I promote you to get a flask of vodka and enjoy this film. This film is brilliant and will leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling all over.
Or is that the vodka?
- Gabriel Gurrero is a senior English major and The Mirror's IFS columnist.
Be the first to comment on this story