Andrei KRAVCHUK Андрей КРАВЧУК Andreï KRAVTCHOUK   Russia, 2005, 92 mn  Colour, fiction

The Italian ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ Итальянец    L'Italien  Italyanets

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Plot synopsis

It’s a pretty tall order to ask a six-year-old to suddenly take on responsibility for his own life. Every decision he makes will have an influence on his future, and the questions facing Vanya are really tough: does he want to life a comfortable life as an adopted child of a loving family in Italy? After all, for an abandoned Russian child like Vanya it really doesn’t sound like a bad option. Or would he rather take on the powers-that-be in Russian society? The latter path would involve a battle against Russia’s feeble adoption laws in a godforsaken part of the country where, for children without parents, adoption offers the only chance for survival. Moreover, there’s plenty of money to be had in selling orphans into adoption abroad. For Vanya to succeed, he would have to get his own way in a cruel world where adults are not about to let a perverse six-year-old prevent them from earning a quick buck. He would also have to defend himself against the avarice of corrupt militias. But, above all, his refusal to allow himself to be adopted by an Italian family would be a decision against his mother’s wishes, who abandoned him in a Russian maternity ward. The world of children is a universe with its own laws; a realm in which sometimes one’s heart speaks louder than one’s intellect. Vanya decides to set off in search of his mother. But he must first learn how to read so that he can understand the little information he has about her. Vanya embarks on his quest – and encounters a mysterious and dangerous world.

 

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Commentaries and bibliography

Andrei Kravchuk: The Italian (Ital'ianets), 2005, Yelena MONASTIREVA-ANSDELL, kinokultura.com, 2006

 

Review by Elena Monastireva-Ansdell on kinokultura.com

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Selected in the following festivals :

- Russian film festival in Ajaccio, Ajaccio (France), 2012

- Les rencontres culturelles Russenko, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre (France), 2012

- Days of russian cinema in Chambéry, Chambery (France), 2009

- Festival of Russian Cinema in Mumbai, Mumbai (India), 2009

- Montreal International Film Festival for Children, Montreal (Canada), 2008

- Festival cinéma à hauteur d'enfant, Sevran (France), 2008

- Russian week in Castres, Castres (France), 2008

- Nantes Russian Film Festival ''Univerciné'', Nantes (France), 2007

- Cinémas russes à Montauban, Montauban (France), 2007

- Release in France of the film, Different cities (France), 2007-02-14

- Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh (United Kingdom), 2007

- Palm Springs International Film Festival, Palm Springs (USA), 2007

- Toronto International Film Festival, Toronto (Canada), 2006

- Days of Russian cinema in Valence, Valencia (France), 2006

- Strasbourg two weeks of Russian cinema, Strasbourg (France), 2006

- International debut film festival, Khanty Mansiysk (Russia), 2006

- Golden Eagle awards, Moscow (Russia), 2006

- Russian film festival in Sweden 'KinoRiurik', Stockholm (Sweden), 2006

- Russian Nights, Los Angeles (USA), 2006

- Honfleur Russian Film Festival, Honfleur (France), 2005

- Berlin International Film Festival : Berlinale, Berlin (Germany), 2005

- Russian Film Festival, Riga (Latvia), 2005

- Annual award of the Guild of Historians of Cinema and Film Critics, Moscow (Russia), 2005

- Window to Europe Film Festival, Vyborg, Vyborg (Russia), 2005

- Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF), Moscow (Russia), 2005

- Film Festival of CIS countries, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia "Kinoshock", Anapa (Russia), 2005

- Russian Film Week in New York, New York (USA), 2005

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