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Movie Review: I'm Not Scared

Children of the wheat.

by A. Rosenbloom | 2004.05.14

Remember when Hollywood imported foreign filmmakers to create quality products? Remember when Robert Evans brought Roman Polanski to Hollywood? He made Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown. Remember when Francis Coppola went to Germany and returned with Wim Wenders? He directed Hammit and Paris, Texas. Those were the days when all Hollywood took were filmmakers, not films. The reason I bring this up is that I’m Not Scared, the fantastic new Italian thriller is just the sort of fare that Hollywood would bring to America; most likely without its creator. The director, Gabriele Salvatores, would almost certainly be left out of the equation, just as other foreign directors were left at home while their products were stolen and looted in Hollywood. It would join the ranks of terrible Hollywood remakes of contemporary international films like Vanilla Sky and Insomnia. The former was a meaningless piece of filmmaking by Cameron Crowe taken from the clever Spanish thriller, Open Your Eyes, by Aljandro Amenabar. The latter was Christopher Nolan’s sloppy remake of the Norwegian mystery of the same name by Erik Skjoldbjærg. My point is not that Hollywood only makes garbage they can market with movie stars instead of quality products, but that there is something about contemporary foreign cinema which is more exciting, adventurous, and interesting than the original products being made stateside. That idea certainly rings true of I’m Not Scared.

Set in Southern Italy in 1978, this sly, sneaky film is told entirely through the eyes of its hero, 10 year old Michele. We see all of the drama as he sees it, and this directorial approach almost certainly gave birth to the film’s reflexive title. We are with Michele as he plays in the beautiful wheat fields in the country side, when he spies on his frequently absent father and his sinister friends, and when he finds a little boy chained up in a small hole in the ground next to an abandoned house. His innocence and good nature (exhibited from the beginning of the film) leads to an unlikely friendship with the imprisoned boy. He brings him food, water, and takes him out to play in the wheat fields that surround the area. Though he is having fun, there is always a sense of danger surrounding these escapades, and it does not take long for Michele to realize that there may be some kind of connection between this strange situation and his father’s shady friends who have arrived at his house. When he does realize the truth, it is more disturbing and terrifying than anything seen in any American horror film all year.

Stylistically, this film is as exciting and fresh as anything seen in theatres in the new year. Salvatores is clearly comfortable with his material, and his confidence is evident in every scene of the film. He masterfully switches tones throughout the film, and makes the audience completely at ease before pulling out the rug. The wheat fields, which act as the children’s playground, become eerily quiet and dangerous due to the same emptiness which first made them comforting. The tiny house where Michele lives with his parents and sister becomes a dangerous place where Michele must tip-toe around to listen to the secret conversations of his father and his friends. Along with the wonderful cinematographer Italo Petriccione, Salvatores exhibits restraint to build tension in a way that would make Hitchcock shift in his seat. He complements himself by drawing out spectacular performances from everyone, especially the children who occupy most of the screen time. The two leads, Giusseppe Christiano and Mattia Di Pierro are so good, it’s hard to imagine them in the same league as typical child actors.

The saddest part of Hollywood’s looting of foreign films, is that most of the time the American audiences do not get to see the original product. They are force fed the American remake filled with high profile movie stars and Top 40 songs as a soundtrack. The originality that inspired the remake is spared to make the film more accessable. I sincerely hope this does not happen with I’m Not Scared; a film as much fun as it is scary. Instead of just stealing ideas and stories, Hollywood needs to support these filmmakers with the money that they do not have access to in other parts of the world. At least we know that if Hollywood continues to underestimate and fail its audiences, we can always look abroad for originality in the cinema.

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