Konterr Brilliant and touching

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

scoochie9 I just happened upon "I'm Not Scared" at the library. I'd seen the preview several times through the years, thought it looked good, and never came across it 'til today. I'm so glad I finally did! This is a truly beautiful film, from the stunning cinematography all the way to the very emotional story of two young boys meeting under extraordinary (and scary) circumstances. The acting was fantastic, particularly the young protagonist played by Giuseppe Christiano.It's almost like a crime thriller told in story-book-speak. Pretty understandable since it's seen and told through the eyes of children.Absolutely brilliant and unique! I can't BELIEVE this escaped Oscar notice!!!

Greg Mullins The real mastery in this film lies in the beautiful simplicity of it's childlikeness. There are few movies in Cinema that portray the innocence and unfeigned nature of children - before the loss of their transparency on the way to adulthood. I know the French film Ponette might come to mind for some lovers of cinema, but that was shot entirely from the perspective of little children almost to the exclusion of grown ups. This film shows the stark contrast of the two worlds by interweaving them, with childhood itself being one of the main characters, as landscapes were for John Ford in so many of his Westerns. Toward the end, it reaches for the sublime in moments of Michelangelo.For me, the emotional interaction of these very young non actors made the movie spiritual to some degree by way of it's sheer honesty, without compromising the true spirituality in the principles and very adult themes of good vs. evil, betrayal, forgiveness, reaping what you sow, the coming Judgment, and finally - true friendship born of selflessness. Something we adults could learn more from by becoming more like little children ourselves, myself included. I believe this to be one of the best expressions of the young mind in realism, without crossing over into the fantasy that is so common in film today. How refreshing.Of course all of this speaks for the excellence of the Director and the Writer, who gave us such a beautiful picture. Something that could only be pulled off by adults, albeit with at least the fond memory of a child, if not the heart of one. The cinematography, the very intentional and gorgeous classical score, along with much subtle but deep contrast, make this a modern classic that I will enjoy again and again. I hope you do too.http://fullgrownministry.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/peace/

Paul You will draw a clear sense of this gripping story from the many other excellent reviews on this site. What I want to comment on is the most amazing cinematographic depiction of HEAT ever brought to the silver screen. I've never experienced anything like it! The movie is set against the backdrop of mid summer in southern Italy - filmed in Potenza. This is the wheat-belt of Italy, and man is it hot. Every scene, every detail draws you back to that essential point - it is molto caldo. The crackle of the wheat sheaths blowing in the hot wind; the rasp of the ants crawling across the burnt dust under the wheat; the rattle of the fan in the dark kitchen, blowing across the sweat-beaded chest of a woman in a loose peasant dress. Pulsating, palpable heat. The movie should have won an Oscar for this artistic genius. It is worth seeing for this reason alone, and yet it only the setting for a terrific, compelling, disturbing story. One of the best films I have ever seen.

estandard Predictable and uninteresting. Lack of story cannot be helped by pompous music and an abundance of golden fields (you get sick of them) with hedgehogs, frogs, owls, ants and other animals just making the scenery too perfect. If it would have been an American movie it would have been plain crap. The Italian language and environment makes it somewhat worth seeing. Its hard to find really good Italian films. Ladri di biciclette, nuovo cinema paradiso, il postino and la vita è bella are the only ones I've found so far. (I don't really care for older Italian films because they really have aged to much to be enjoyable.)