The Italian

I watched the movie “The Italian”. My first reaction at reading the synopsis was “What’s the big deal. I have seen lot of such movies with this theme even in Hindi cinema and in Hollywood. A boy who wants to goes in the search for his birth mother!

As the movie progressed I had to change my mind. It is completely different.
It is an amazing story of motivation and strength and that too shown in a small boy of only six yrs old. It is not a sob story where the orphanage treats the children with much disdain. It won’t evoke the tears in your eyes (atleast did not happen for me J); infact this does have a happy ending. However I was on my toes all the time, anticipating all the time as to what will happen next? Will this boy ever find his mother?

This story starts in an orphanage in Russia (actually hard to say which part in Russia?). Some wealthy couple from Italy is coming to adopt a child. All the kids are excited as to who will they pick? They show kids screaming and one kid anton getting dressed in his nicest clothes. Only kid who looks disinterested in all this is Vanya. However couple decides to pick him. He is happy meeting with the couple who later give him lot of candies for him to eat, which he enthusiastically shares with his friends. But then he finds out that some lady claiming to be the mother of another kid who was adopted recently comes to find him and when he is unsuccessful in locating him then she kills herself. It is then Vanya decides that he would much rather be with his mother than with the Italian foreigners. Vanya has amazing presence of mind and his determination lends him on the path in search of his mother. He has to face his share of misfortune on the way like two other local kids mugging him, some lady and police after him.

It is amazing as to how much he grows and how he completes his journey.
How he learns and quickly adapts to his environment like when he learns to defend himself by using a broken glass bottle when he saw some one else do the same thing just the night before. And finally he meets up with his mother.

When he embarks on this journey he has no idea whether his mom is even alive or not? He does not know anything. Only thing he knows is his heart and his feelings. And he walks into unknown.
I doubt if in today’s world even an adult can be expected to take this kind of decision let alone a child of only 6 years; Or is it that we adults who have become so cynic and lost faith?

There may be lot of things in this story which will inspire other people but what inspired me the most was “Listen to your heart because it knows the best”

--NK