It is the summer of 1978 in southern Italy where ten-year old Michele (Giuseppe Cristiano) has to drag his younger sister along with him as he and his pals play their little power games near some ancient ruins. He is a bit of an outsider in this group and everyone knows it. When his sister loses her glasses, he doubles back to the spot and comes across a large covered-up hole. When the light reveals the contents down below, he sees a foot protruding from under a blanket.
At home in a small and poor village, both he and his sister are happy to see their father Pino (Dino Abbrescia) who has brought them presents. But there is tension between Michele and his father, who calls him a sissy and takes great pleasure in challenging him to an arm wrestling match. His mother Anna (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon) gives her son a hard time since he's gone so much and she never knows where he is or what he's doing. Michele is a very private child who secretly reads fantasy tales at night and can spend time sitting in a tree all by himself.
Back at the mysterious hole in the ground, Michele discovers that the body he spied in the cave is a disheveled and dirty ten-year-old boy (Mattia Di Pierro), who thinks that he has died and gone to a strange place. Michele's heart goes out to him and he gives him water and on another visit some bread to eat. Who is this strange boy and what is he doing in this underground prison that can only be reached by a rope? And why are the adults in town acting so strange? What are they hiding?
Gabriele Salvatores directed this Italian film, which is based on Niccolo Ammaniti's novel of the same title. The director's previous film Mediterraneo won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1992. This psychological thriller vividly explores one young boy's coming-of-age and deftly reveals the many ways children feel cut off from the mysterious world of adults. The director has spoken of his fascination with the novel's themes of above and below, inside and out, emerged and submerged, visible and invisible, big and small. Salvatores brings these contrasts vividly to life in the visual marvels of the film.
Can Michele keep his discovery a secret? That is really difficult for a boy whose mind is alive with possibilities. One thing is for sure, here is a child who is willing to risk all just to do a good thing for a stranger. And that makes him a pint-sized hero in a community of adults with other less worthy pursuits.
