The greatest 01 hour: and 37 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Russian cast entirely speaks English!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Set in rural Russia, six-year-old Vanya, while waiting for his adoption to be finalized, decides to escape from his orphanage and embark on a journey to find his birth mother. The first half of The Italian, set in the orphanage, effectively uses muted tones and soft focus to establish the conditions the children experience, a drab and cold existence where hope for the future seems to be nothing more than a fleeting thought. As tragic as it feels, it is riveting viewing. The second half of the movie loses a bit of steam as Vanya escapes an unlikely number of close calls and chance encounters as authorities pursue him, leading to a predictable and improbable final scene. The movie is saved by the charming and charismatic performance of the young actor who plays the runaway, a performance that gives the film a sense of credibility that would otherwise be lacking.

Gritty. Real. Excellent performances.

Andrei Kravchuk's engrossing Russian drama explores the world of international adoption.

An incredibly moving story, beautifully presented, ripped my heart right out of my body.

Relato dickensiano enternecedor, de sorprendente sencillez, muy bien actuado por su pequeño protagonista, y que revela una triste realidad en la Rusia contemporánea.

Ay its a me, pause unpause, and I want to say I lovea this movie, it is about my papi.

It looks like cinema loves to deal with kids seeking their parents. This movie is not going so far in this, indeed the story is not that noticeable due to the remarkable cinematography and the nice performance of the boy "Vanya" (Nikolay Spiridonov). The only thing makes the difference in the script is how much could learning reading change things, so the 6 years old boy was able to know some personal information about him to make up his mind to leave that closed ruthless Russian orphanage, although he had a great offer to be adopted by a decent Italian family, so as soon as the movie turned to be a travel to find the mother, I suddenly stopped feeling interesting about it. I guess I was spoiled by "Landscape in the Mist" of "Theo Angelopoulos" that I cannot feel any movie to be better in that, and I really don't care how the end was. The cinematography is great for sure, with a perfect using of nature, and Nikolay Spiridonov gives a nice spontaneous performance. I really don't feel the soundtrack for me it is not convincing at all. I much appreciate that this film is the debut of a director. Well, it supposed that movies like this have to awake something inside our souls. I'm really full of real stories I see everyday, unfortunately. though this "Italian" still nicely recommended and for no doubt watch-worthy.

Hauntingly heart-rending film about the power of love that a child has for his mother. This movie deserves its high rating. What surprises me is the 68% of the audience response. I would have thought that percentage would be higher, but perhaps that's just that a lot of people here don't like subtitled foreign films. Their loss.

Cute- I liked it a lot. The kid who plays Vanya is beyond adorable.

Such a true story I can relate to. A great film. Balled my eyes out.

terrible ending, but the story was good the ending was just to sudden after all the wait

Absolutely marvelous. Love it.

It might be the only Russian film i've seen so far, but i am impressed. The story and the backdrop is fascinating. An engaging film for most film lovers and all foreign film lovers.

A great story and so insightful into the bleakness of the Russian climate. Thank god we watched this on DVD so we could review the ending again and again!

Buena película y actuaciones. Refleja una realidad de lo que sucede con algunos orfanatos en el mundo, así como los problemas sociales en Rusia.

After a slow start, the Italian builds with suspense as a determined little boy attempts to find his mother as he is in the process of being adopted by an Italian couple from a depressed Russian orphanage. Not only is the runaway young, but he learns to read, travels cross-country, and fights off orphanage workers in the process to be reunited with a mother that he may or may not find. More than inspiring.

Standard orphan story that breaks little ground.

Pretty good foreign flick, the ending could have been done better though. The lead actor was like 7 years old and surprisingly held the movie down

This is the kind of film that makes you wish for a happy ending.