The Italian is a 2005 Russian drama film directed by Andrei Kravchuk. The screenplay by Andrei Romanov, inspired by a true story, focuses on a young boy's determined search for his mother.
Plot
Six-year-old Vanya Solntsev lives in a desolate and rundown orphanage run by an alcoholic headmaster. When a wealthy Italian couple wanting to adopt selects him, the other children, especially his good friend, Anton, envy his fortune and name him The Italian. However, when a grief-stricken mother of another boy commits suicide after returning to reclaim her son and discovering he is no longer there, Vanya fears the same fate looms for him. With the aid of some of the older boys, he retrieves his file from the office safe and learns the address of the children's home where he previously lived. Certain the records there will identify his mother, he sets off on his quest. Pursuing him by car as he travels by train are the corrupt go-between, who brokered his remunerative adoption, and her driver, Grisha. Upon arriving in the town where the children's home is located, Vanya is attacked, but escapes and finds a bus that will take him to his destination. There he is confronted by Grisha, but manages to elude him and make contact with the night watchman of the home, who gives him his mother's address. Once again Grisha catches up with him, but when he realizes how determined Vanya is, lets him go. The boy is reunited with his mother. Through a letter Vanya wrote to Anton, who was adopted by the Italian couple instead, we learn Vanya is happy to be living with his mother.
Manohla Dargis of The New York Times said, "The film’s director, Mr. Kravchuk, throws a beautiful, somewhat gauzy light over this world that gently softens its harder angles. There is something slightly magical about the lighting, almost as if this were a fantasy land from which Vanya might actually make an escape. This sense of unreality, of magical thinking and wishing, carries the story and Vanya through a remarkable journey... like something out of a film by Roberto Rossellini, which is very high praise indeed." Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "a deeply moving experience, alternately funny and sad" and added, "Based on a real incident, it has the ring of truth. Every detail feels right, from the chill of a Russian winter to the coldness displayed by adults profiting from a trade in orphans." Leslie Felperin of Variety observed, "Briskly helmed by feature debutant Andrei Kravchuk, depicts the hard-knock life in a remote Russian children's home with stark realism, evolving smoothly into a taut adventure tale as hits the road in search of his mom. Possibly a bit too hard-hitting for more protected Western kids, might appeal to subtitle-friendly tweens and teens in upmarket territories."
