The Leader

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1944, NR, 85 Minutes

Available from the Criterion Collection

Arriving at almost the exact moment when pre-WWII Italian melodrama was giving way to post-WWII Italian neorealism - the fertile cinematic movement that offered us two of the greatest films ever made (Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief and Roberto Rossellini's Open City) - The Children Are Watching Us marks the first collaboration between director De Sica and screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, who would continue to work together on The Bicycle Thief, Shoeshine, Miracle in Milan, and Umberto D (all landmarks in the neorealist movement).

The Children Are Watching Us would seem to be little more than a curiosity piece, in relation to both De Sica's and Zavattini's careers and Italian film history. The film tenuously balances between elaborate melodrama and unflinching realism while demonstrating De Sica's and Zavattini's interest in child's-eye viewpoints and the economic effect of World War II on Italy's citizens. While the film is certainly a historical marker in many respects, it stands astonishingly well on its own and is one of the greatest depictions of the loss of innocence in cinematic memory.

Although De Sica does rely a bit too much on precocious doe-eyed bambini, Luciano De Ambrosis, as Prico, the young boy whose mother's adulterous affair threatens to break up his close-knit family, gives a remarkably astute, sincere performance. Without blatantly moralizing the events of the story, De Ambrosis makes apparent the meaning of the film's title: can adults justify their petty actions when they are confronted by and inflicted upon the sincere innocence of youth? The repercussions of Prico'ss clear-eyed watching is made apparent by a brutal, still-unshakable climax that foreshadowed the coming years of Italian neorealism.

Features: Interviews with Luciano De Ambrosis and Italian film scholar Callisto Cosulich; a 24-page booklet featuring essays by Stuart Klawans and Peter Brunette

Final Word: As always, the Criterion Collection offers a nearly-perfect transfer from film to DVD; Giuseppe Caracciolo and Romolo Garroni's sparkling black-and-white cinematography is absolutely vibrant. Although a couple of interviews are the only sparse features, they illuminate the historical and formal importance of The Children Are Watching Us, as do the two enjoyable essays featured in the booklet. A release of one of De Sica's earliest films in such a beautiful transfer is cause enough for celebration, especially for fans of Italian neorealism.

Film: 4 of 5

DVD: 3.5 of 5

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