STOLEN CHILDHOOD

Tough kid Rosario leads a strange life: his parents are mysteriously absent, he is busy with his gang, doesn?t attend school, but tends daily to his demented grandmother. Around women, he says he?s 14; when he?s with the police, he is 11. What?s definite about Rosario is that he is confident and fearless, traits that lead him from stupid boy antics to petty crime to something a bit more serious. The film is beautifully shot in parts of Naples off the tourist track, mixing sleek, chilly scenes of new architecture and the warm old Italy of his grandmother. Opening with a dangerous childhood dare, the film seems aimless at first, like the tenor of Rosario?s life. Rosario is the leader of his young gang, but they answer to a creep called Casaluce. But Casaluce is a small, unimportant cog in a much bigger crime machine, and as Rosario?s exploits escalate, he is drafted for more dangerous work. Much of the film is told in very tight, quick flashbacks that fill in crucial blanks in the story, leading to a shocking ending.