9 out of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Your life will never be the same if you watch this.

A Customer from Kent, England, 27th September, 2006

A stunning film. I don't speak a word of Italian, but the subtitles work exceedingly well - you take them in without being aware of it. I cried a lot watching this film - it should be compulsory viewing for anyone over 12. There are disabled people with cerebral palsy everywhere in the world - if, like me, you find it difficult to treat disabled people as 'ordinary'and don't know what to say, then watch this - you will realise that no, they aren't ordinary - they are AMAZING! Just watch the film. I can't put into words how this film has changed the inside of me. And watch all the added bits, too - as unforgettable as the actual film. Anyone who gives this film fewer than 5 stars and finds it heavy going etc, must be a very shallow person. I feel more sorry for them than for disabled people.

Read all highest rated reviews

9 out of 11 people found the following review helpful:

Slow..

A Customer from Plymouth, UK., 24th October, 2005

This film did drag a little for me and there was'nt the compensation of great italian scenes, it being set mostly in Berlin. It's about a father who is getting reaquainted with his disabled son on a trip to a specialist hospital in Berlin. He meets Charlotte Rampling there with her daughter, who's at the same hospital. For the father it's very hard work looking after the son and at one point the boy runs off when left for 5 minutes unattended. A very gentle, thought provoking film but not worth the time spent watching it.

Read all highest rated reviews

6 out of 6 people found the following review helpful:

Moving.

nitaray from Surrey, 22nd December, 2005

This is a story about a physically disadvantaged boy and the young father who rejects him at birth and is re-united with him fifteen years later with life-changing consequences. Superbly directed by Gianni Amelio and acted with complete realism by the young disabled boy, Andreas, the pivotal character, and Kim Rossi Stuart as his father. Charlotte Rampling plays a smaller but very significant role as the brave single parent of a more severly disabled child. Basically, it is a story about human nature, inner resources, the strength and resilience of disabled chhildren and how those who care for them can often find unknown strength within themselves.
Perhaps it doesn't sound like the ideal evening's entertainment, but our European cousins do this kind of thing very well and personally I wouldn't have missed it.

Read all highest rated reviews

5 out of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Moving!

Sophie Boucher-Giles from London, UK, 22nd February, 2006

I really wasn't expecting to be as moved as this as I was, despite the realistic but not exactly 'happy' ending . An excellent film worth watching, Rossi-Stuart is yummy! Amazing cast. My only real issue is the lack of depth, time and explannation re. the father's relationship and love for his wife and subsequent abandonment of his son, plus no clear definition given of the son's disability (all from oxygen deprivation?), although in a way an inability to 'classify' the disability means that you relate more to the individual character as a fully-rounded person. Enjoy!

Read all highest rated reviews

Beautifully told...

Koalabear from , 20th August, 2009

I absolutely loved this film even though it the story revolves around such a difficult subject.
Answers to a lot of the questions are very subtle so I did rewind a few bits every so often but that is exactly what makes this film so good.
The film manages to be very gentle whilst keeping a very realistic view to the difficulties of being and caring for a handicapped person, in particular as we see the father realising what he's got ahead of him.

Read all recent reviews

boring

rizzman from , 26th June, 2009

Maybe just because the subject was too serious when i watched it but i really found it boring....stopped watching after 30 min.

Read all recent reviews

dissapionted

A Customer from wales, 1st June, 2009

didnt relise it was in another language

Read all recent reviews

A hidden gem....

Helen P from Poole, Dorset, 17th March, 2009

I've only recently discovered the actor Kim Rossi-Stuart - a very talented Italian actor - and so I've been catching up on his back catalogue of work. This is a superb film. Not much happens but it's a lovely story of a man trying to bond with his son who has cerebral palsy (I think) and trying to make amends for abandoning him as a baby 15 years earlier. Well worth watching.

Read all recent reviews