The Italian
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: January 19, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
74
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
24
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
It's a carefully and almost classically balanced combination of ingredients, blending dirty-faced realism (so much more damning because it judges and condemns no one) with mystical fable of quest and homecoming. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Earns its happy ending like few other contemporary dramas concerned with the fate of a child. It puts you through hell for that ending, in fact, hell being modern-day Russia. Read full review
83
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Vanya's journey to find his mom is not easy or picturesque or heartwarming. But it's also never without hope. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
I was utterly gripped by The Italian. The only problem is that I was rooting for the bad guys. Read full review
80
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
There is something slightly magical about the lighting, almost as if this were a fantasy land from which Vanya might actually make an escape. This sense of unreality, of magical thinking and wishing, carries the story and Vanya through a remarkable journey. Read full review
80
SlateDana Stevens
The Italian is an aesthetic gem, but a moral muddle. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Combining the influences of Italian neorealism with Dickensian melodrama, Andrei Kravchuk's simultaneously tough-minded and sentimental The Italian is as bracing as it is moving. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The result is a picture half sweet, half bitter. Charles Dickens would approve. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
It's a wish-fulfillment fantasy posing as hard-edged realism. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Equal parts "Oliver Twist" and "Pinocchio," Russian director Andrei Kravchuk's fictional hearttugger exposes a troubling real-life practice in contemporary Russia: the buying and selling of abandoned children to rich foreign couples. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
At heart, The Italian is a Dickensian tale that paints a vivid portrait of post-Glasnost Russia en route to a four-handkerchief ending. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Before reaching a bittersweet finale that doesn't ring as loudly as it should, The Italian starts to look too much like a neo-realist "Home Alone" sequel, as Spiridonov outwits his pursuers in one scene after another. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
The result is a deeply moving experience, alternately funny and sad. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeTy Burr
It's foreign, it's inspiring, it has an adorably resourceful kid; it depicts grinding misery in a land far from West Newton, and it holds out the possibility of clambering over all that misery to attain your dream. Read full review
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
It's an old-fashioned Soviet road movie, filled with kind souls of the otherwise desperate (and at times predatory) world. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jason Anderson
The Italian belongs in group of excellent recent Russian films -- most notably Andrei Zvyagintsev's "The Return" and Boris Khlebnikov and Aleksei Popogrebsky's "Roads to Koktebel" -- that have examined the effects of the country's woes on its youngest and most vulnerable citizens, as well as the problems faced by any child unfortunate enough to have faulty or absent parents. At its best, The Italian conveys this grave issue with admirable clarity and power. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
A powerful indictment of Russia's illegal adoption industry - and a story of pipsqueak resolve and resilience - The Italian is clear-eyed and tough in its depiction of a corrupt, atrophied social order. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesCarina Chocano
A remarkably compelling presence, Spiridonov commands attention without pandering or appealing to pity. In fact, for a 6-year-old, he is possessed of an uncanny poise. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
The film flirts frequently with sentimentality, falling for it heedlessly at a couple of crucial junctures. Still, the overall style is more astringent than moist, and the hero is a little toughie of endearing tenderness.
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
May be derivative, but it's still engrossing, largely because of its appealing juvenile lead. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
The juvenile performances are impressive, as they usually are in foreign films, and Spiridonov handles some grueling material with impressive maturity. But the movie comes undone with an abrupt and preposterous finale. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSteve Davis
Other than the unsatisfactory ending, however, there's much that is commendable in the The Italian, not the least of which are its social criticisms of the buying and selling of children through the adoption businesses currently thriving in Russia and neighboring eastern European countries. In some respects, unfortunately, not much has changed since the world was introduced to little Oliver Twist nearly two centuries ago. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
There are too many familiar faces in this story, from kindhearted whores to street-urchin bullies. But even if circumstances edge toward the unlikely, Kravchuk and Spiridonov make an effective team, exploring the realities that lead to so much heartbreak for so many children. Read full review
63
PremiereEthan Alter
The depiction of everyday life at the orphanage is far more compelling than Vanya's personal quest. It's unfortunate that once the Italian hits the road, The Italian loses its way. Read full review
60
Village VoiceElla Taylor
Lured, perhaps, by the promise of international markets, Kravchuk instead opts for routine uplift, and once the heroic journey is set in motion, the rest is ballast. Read full review
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