I’m Not Scared is an Italian foreign language film that tells a
story of a boy who comes across another boy who is chained at the bottom of a hole in
the Italian countryside.
The film follows 9 year-old
Michele as he keeps the secret chained boy from all of the other people from
his village as he feels something seriously wrong is going on.
I’m Not Scared touches on themes relating to nefarious dealings,
forced imprisonment and kidnapping activities in the 2000's (especially in Europe and South America).
Synopsis
Michele lives in a small Italian village with his two
parents and little sister. His father is not around often as his work has him
working far away from home. Without both parents around Michele and his sister
often spend their days adventuring through the countryside with their friends
until they have to return home for dinner. You could say they get into trouble
here and there, but at the heart of things, they are good kids.
After a long day of gallivanting through the fields with
their friends, the two siblings come home to find their father waiting for
them. They jump into his arms with excitement and continue to celebrate with
their parents through the night. They haven’t seen him in a long time and want
to know absolutely everything their father has got up to in the big city. The
two children soon tire themselves out, falling asleep with smiles on their
faces.
In the next few days, Michele and his sister go about their
daily adventures. Their father is not a huge fan of his children wondering far
away from home and makes it clear to them.
This turns into an argument between Michele and his father, which results in Michele running away from home. He rides his bike to the outskirts of town to an abandoned farm. At the farm, he comes across all sorts of creepy stuff. But even weirder he comes across a huge hole that is hidden under a bunch of wood. At the bottom is another kid, disheveled, covered in dirt under a torn blanket.
This turns into an argument between Michele and his father, which results in Michele running away from home. He rides his bike to the outskirts of town to an abandoned farm. At the farm, he comes across all sorts of creepy stuff. But even weirder he comes across a huge hole that is hidden under a bunch of wood. At the bottom is another kid, disheveled, covered in dirt under a torn blanket.
The remainder of the film follows Michele as he secretly travels
every day between home and the abandoned farm.
On his trips, he starts to communicate with the boy in the hole. Trying to understand why he is there, forming a sort of friendship with the boy.
As time passes, Michele begins to slowly piece together facts around the other boy’s the situation.
On his trips, he starts to communicate with the boy in the hole. Trying to understand why he is there, forming a sort of friendship with the boy.
As time passes, Michele begins to slowly piece together facts around the other boy’s the situation.
Important Themes
I Am Not Scared tells a story that still holds up well in the
present day. Produced in 2003, the Italian film still holds up to similar
modern films that explore plot-lines and themes of captivity. Films like Room, Chained and Split for example.
Kidnappings and abductions continue to be daily occurrences
across the globe. In 2013, there were 41,035 official reports of missing children in Canada alone and in Mexico during the
same year there was a record of 1,700 confirmed kidnappings.
Statistics show that kidnappings in Mexico surged after the year 2005. During 2006,
criminal groups started to use kidnappings as a way to get ransom money from
desperate families.
Findings go forward to note that most kidnappings in the 90’s
(in Mexico) were carried out by gangs of active and retired police officers. These
people targeted rich business owners and members of the political elite. In 1994,
the high-profile kidnapping of Alfredo Harp Helú won
the captors $30 million for his release.
Fast forward to the past decade and you will find that the
kidnapping trend has gotten even worse. Sticking the Mexican example, the
total number of gangs sky rocketed from 6 to over 400 between 2007 and 2016 according
to Mexico United Against Organized Crime.
As stated earlier this is a global issue. It continues to
happen in the Middle East, United States, Colombia, Spain, Germany and New Zealand.
Conclusion
I Am Not Scared is a very unique film. It carries a very dark and
mysterious undertone, while succeeding in telling a dramatic story through the
eyes of a 9 year-old boy from an impoverished village. Illustrating just how
hard it is to survive through challenging times.
The Italian film does a great job of telling a slow burning
tale while still keeping the viewer entertaining and intrigued throughout the entirety
of the film.
I highly recommend I Am Not Scared. It is a classic, which
still holds up with the best mystery oriented films out there.
