This marvelous film deals with a topic, exploitation of children (euphimism), that is difficult on viewers. All over the world bad things are happening to young people who can not control their own lives because they are children. The innocents tainted in this world will become saints and dwell in Heaven with Our Father. No, this film isn't about religion per se. But it is about the struggle and the triumph of humans over their sometimes miserable, but always radiant, terrible difficulties. The adult who has to deal with the two abandoned children is marvelously played and his growth as a human being in the sense of doing the right thing, rather than just "following orders" is a great performance. The leading character is an 11-12 year old girl who I understand was not an actress before performing in this film. I could open a floodgate of positive adjectives and remarks about her performance, but let's just say that she play her role so authentically and underplays, which is necessary, the plight of her character, where the underplaying is simply the character being herself in a world she endures,and must accept, but is one no one would choose. I hope that viewers will remember (and if they don't, watch the movie again) the final scene where she tries to give her brother hope and show the viewer that even the worst world can be inhabited and experienced with at least some joy--sometimes only a tiny measure of happiness is all we can get in our lives, but still we must savor it.Many people complain that so and so movie is not on DVD etc., but this film was released on VHS for a short time in the early 90's and only a few copies are on the market at a fairly high price--the film should be transferred to DVD by Criterion or someone (I wish I knew how). Buy the VHS and watch a movie that points the way, as almost no movie really does, to the real, complex, harmful, and sometimes wonderful world that exists beyond the movie.

i have seen many and i mean many many movies but this still is my all time favorite even above great classics like "Godfather" or Shawshank redemption.Why the movie is so good? the great special effects? NO! there aren't one, the Action No there isn't any action. the reason! this is the most sincere movie ever made.It's the beautiful story of two children 8 and 11 who are placed out of there home when their mother is arrested for selling her daughter as whore. the children team up with a goodhearted policeman (Enrico LO Verso)who must guide them and bring them to a good orphanage. as the story goes by the 3 people more and more grow tho each others. This is the story of friendship trust and faith and human compassion.Hearthwarming and Unforgettable

The story of a young carabiniere that has been assigned the job to escort a couple of minors from Milan to their native Sicily. Stops along the way include the riviera (around Genova or Livorno), Rome, Calabria. Travel is done by train and by car. We see segments of italy in their socio-economic regional realities. The folks in Calabria are seen living next to a busy road in a house with no stucco covering the bare bricks, a common tactic used in the south to qualify for a taxation exemption (being the house not completed). Smartly filmed, it candidly reveals an Italy closer to what natives struggling to make a living would experience in having to travel along the length of the Italian booth. This is a fictional movie, but there is an effort to make evident how realistically people live today.

'Il Ladro Di Bambini' is one of the most moving pieces of cinema I've ever seen, and it reminds me so clearly why I love film. I've just seen it, and I'm still very emotional over what I saw. The children play the roles perfectly, and Enrico Lo Verso's performance is brilliant as well. It's such a simple film actually, but so incredibly powerful. The scene where Luciano tells Antonio that he'll come looking for him as soon as he's turned 15, no matter where he is, made me cry. This is a true, honest film about trust, that I will treasure for a long time to come.