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I'm Not Scared

Play trailer Poster for I'm Not Scared R 2003 1h 48m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 100 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
In a small town in Italy in 1978, 9-year-old Michele (Giuseppe Cristiano) finds Fillipo (Mattia Di Perro), seemingly dead in a deep hole in the ground, while on a bike ride with friends. Terrified of what he has seen, Michele decides not to tell his father. After returning to the scene, Michele discovers that Fillipo is still alive and bound by a chain. Michele continues to keep his secret as he makes several visits to Fillipo, who has no memory of the events leading up to his captivity.
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I'm Not Scared

I'm Not Scared

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Critics Consensus

A well-acted and thrilling coming-of-age tale that captures a child awakening to the frightening world of adults.

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Critics Reviews

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Will Self London Evening Standard 01/09/2018
If you had despaired of Italian cinema ever regaining the lyricism of the Tavianis and Rossellini, I'm Not Scared will come as a welcome surprise. And if you seek a good yarn well spun, you won't be disappointed. Go to Full Review
David Denby The New Yorker 08/01/2004
A lyrical throwback to such movies as René Clément's Forbidden Games (1952) and other works of the humanist European cinema of a half century ago. Go to Full Review
Miles Fielder Empire Magazine 06/11/2004
4/5
The beautiful photography will have you booking flights to Sicily, while the unsentimental rites-of-passage drama can't fail to touch your heart. Go to Full Review
Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 05/06/2009
C-
"I'm Not Scared" suffers from ill-conceived staging and sluggish pacing. The film's theme that altruism and ignorance are punished is a careless postulate drawn from a kidnapping spree in Italy during the late '70s. Go to Full Review
Mark Halverson Sacramento News & Review 08/07/2008
5/5
Film Threat 12/06/2005
3/5
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Audience Reviews

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Nawt W 12/30/2023 It became readily apparent that the intended age of the character does not actually match the actor's; hence, you're forced to wrestle with the constant discontent of why this almost 14-year-old kid treats another kid in a life-threatening situation with the reverence of a cool beetle that he found. See more dave s 06/18/2021 I suppose that it's difficult to say what you would do if you were a ten-year-old boy who stumbled across another young boy held captive by chains in a deep hole until you actually come across a young boy held captive by chains in a deep hole, but common sense would indicate that you might want to run it by your parents. Despite this leap of logic, the coming-of-age film I'm Not Scared is a fascinating mash up of genres and, despite its methodical pace, should hold the attention of most viewers for the duration. The acting by all of the kids is fantastic, the score is excellent and the cinematography is breathtaking throughout. See more @MilloTPue 05/01/2020 Between 3 and 3.5 stars. Good movie in which we see, from the eyes of a child, a very hard situation. It reaches a good equilibrium between raelity and the magic realism environment it creates in some moments. See more 04/15/2019 Neat Italian mystery/thriller told mostly from the children's perspective. See more 10/24/2016 In "I'm Not Scared" a young Italian boy stumbles across a kidnap victim who has been chained up and concealed in a pit. They slowly form a friendship and gradually the boy uncovers the identity of the gang members who are behind the crime. An interesting enough plot but I didn't feel that there were enough scares and some opportunities to ramp up the tension in the plot were completely wasted. The kidnap victim, a little boy of about 10 years, isn't particularly likeable and the way he behaves seems to me to be quite bizarre. Where this could have actually been a taught thriller or a story of the loss of childhood innocence, I actually found "I'm Not Scared" to be pedestrian and safe. See more 12/20/2015 A film of truly great beauty See more Read all reviews
I'm Not Scared

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Movie Info

Synopsis In a small town in Italy in 1978, 9-year-old Michele (Giuseppe Cristiano) finds Fillipo (Mattia Di Perro), seemingly dead in a deep hole in the ground, while on a bike ride with friends. Terrified of what he has seen, Michele decides not to tell his father. After returning to the scene, Michele discovers that Fillipo is still alive and bound by a chain. Michele continues to keep his secret as he makes several visits to Fillipo, who has no memory of the events leading up to his captivity.
Director
Gabriele Salvatores
Producer
Marco Chimenz
Screenwriter
Niccolò Ammaniti, Francesca Marciano
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
Tele+, Cattleya, Medusa Film, Colorado Film
Rating
R (Language|Disturbing Images)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Italian
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 8, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 2, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.6M
Runtime
1h 48m
Sound Mix
Surround
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