X
  • 2007
  • PG-13
  • Sony Pictures Classics
  • 1 h 30 m
  • 2007
  • PG-13
  • Sony Pictures Classics
  • 1 h 30 m

Summary In his feature directorial debut, director Andrei Kravchuk addresses with intelligence and poignancy the urgent issue of illegal adoption in Russia, which has become a well-documented international crisis. The Italian is based on the true story of a small Russian boy abandoned in an orphanage who goes in search of his birth mother. (Son...

Directed By: Andrey Kravchuk

Written By: Andrei Romanov

  • 2007
  • PG-13
  • Sony Pictures Classics
  • 1 h 30 m
  • 2007
  • PG-13
  • Sony Pictures Classics
  • 1 h 30 m

The Italian

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 25 Critic Reviews
74
User Score Generally Favorable
7.5
My Score
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Where to Watch

Summary In his feature directorial debut, director Andrei Kravchuk addresses with intelligence and poignancy the urgent issue of illegal adoption in Russia, which has become a well-documented international crisis. The Italian is based on the true story of a small Russian boy abandoned in an orphanage who goes in search of his birth mother. (Son...

Directed By: Andrey Kravchuk

Written By: Andrei Romanov

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 25 Critic Reviews
74
96% Positive
24 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 25 Critic Reviews
74
96% Positive
24 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
90
It's a carefully and almost classically balanced combination of ingredients, blending dirty-faced realism (so much more damning because it judges and condemns no one) with mystical fable of quest and homecoming.
By Andrew O'Hehir FULL REVIEW
80
The Italian is an aesthetic gem, but a moral muddle.
FULL REVIEW
75
The Italian belongs in group of excellent recent Russian films -- most notably Andrei Zvyagintsev's "The Return" and Boris Khlebnikov and Aleksei Popogrebsky's "Roads to Koktebel" -- that have examined the effects of the country's woes on its youngest and most vulnerable citizens, as well as the problems faced by any child unfortunate enough to have faulty or absent parents. At its best, The Italian conveys this grave issue with admirable clarity and power.
FULL REVIEW
75
Before reaching a bittersweet finale that doesn't ring as loudly as it should, The Italian starts to look too much like a neo-realist "Home Alone" sequel, as Spiridonov outwits his pursuers in one scene after another.
By Keith Phipps FULL REVIEW
75
The result is a picture half sweet, half bitter. Charles Dickens would approve.
By Lisa Schwarzbaum FULL REVIEW
67
Other than the unsatisfactory ending, however, there's much that is commendable in the The Italian, not the least of which are its social criticisms of the buying and selling of children through the adoption businesses currently thriving in Russia and neighboring eastern European countries. In some respects, unfortunately, not much has changed since the world was introduced to little Oliver Twist nearly two centuries ago.
By Steve Davis FULL REVIEW
60
Lured, perhaps, by the promise of international markets, Kravchuk instead opts for routine uplift, and once the heroic journey is set in motion, the rest is ballast.
FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 4 User Ratings
7.5
75% Positive
3 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 4 User Ratings
7.5
75% Positive
3 Ratings
25% Mixed
1 Rating
0% Negative
0 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Lenfilm Studio, Tulos Cinema, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation
Release Date Jan 19, 2007
Duration 1 h 30 m
Rating PG-13
Genres
Tagline In Russia, Every Orphan Longs for Adoption. Vanya Has Other Plans...To Find His Mother At All Costs
Website http://eiga.com/official/konomichi/
View All Details

Awards

Nika Awards
• 1 Win & 5 Nominations
Berlin International Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Festival del Cinema Europeo
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations

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