Pluskylang Great Film overall

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

glennamulcahy I saw The Italian while living in Indonesia. While there were Indonesian subtitles I stopped reading them after about 15 minutes. The acting, direction and cinematography were so good I found I had no need of the language. I would highly recommend watching this film, as I did, in Russian. You will have a totally different experience–exceptional to so the least!

sergepesic One of the reviewers was trying to convince us that this movie is nationalist, because it portrays orphanages and their staff in negative light. I have to strongly disagree. The bleakness of day to day life in Russia in transition, that this film vividly brings to life, can hardly be a fodder for any nationalist propaganda. Most of Hollywood movies are way more nationalist and self-deluding than anything we saw in this powerful little movie. Director Andrei Kravchuk tells this tragic, but ultimately uplifting story with just the right amount of sentiment.It ends with a slight touch of fairytale. After all, most of the time, life is a mix of tragedy and endless hope.

lastliberal It is not likely that I will find Andrei Kravchuk's first film, A Christmas Miracle< in my search for Christmas movies to get me in the spirit; but, his second film, and Russia's entry into the Oscar race is truly heartwarming and an outstanding sophomore venture for the new director.Six-year-old Vanya (Kolya Spiridonov) is being adopted from a Russian orphanage by an Italian couple. While waiting, he comes across a mother looking for her son, who has long since been adopted. He decides to find his own mother and sets out to make this happen, even though he has already be "sold." Of course, the people who sold him are trying to find him as he journeys to find his mother. Six years old and off on a journey well beyond his years. Like so many children in the world he has to grow up too fast - most because of war or tragedy like Darfur.You will be torn by what the children at the orphanage do to survive, and you will be heartened by the strangers who help him along the way. Most of all, you will find that there are some great movies out there that do not depend on CGI or excessive violence to entertain. This is certainly one of them.

marcellny this was one of the best movies i have seen in a long time. not only was kolya spiridov magnificent, every actor young and old were intense. the lyricism of this movie is simply magnificent. i felt the cold, the dampness, the starkness and disagreeing completely with someone else's comment on this movie, i found the score perfect. economical, to the point, letting us feel the story without suggesting it for us as Hollywood tends to do. also... directed superbly where the main character doesn't get cheap emotions out of us by making us 'cry' by crying. we suffer his plight a great deal more as he goes through the film just as is. superb, intricate, inspired. this film deserves great recognition and all the accolades a great movie should ever get. i recommend it greatly.