El rapto

Hecho real. La segunda mitad del siglo XIX, cuando la iglesia era todavía, desde la perspectiva actual, una organización criminal regular. La película, con un corte amigable para la audiencia, captura de manera integral la percepción de los eventos por parte de todos los involucrados: padres judíos, cuyo hijo es secuestrado a la fuerza por la iglesia para convertirlo al cristianismo; el hermano del niño secuestrado que, incluso después de muchos años, cree firmemente en su rescate; representantes de la iglesia que creen que ejercen el poder de Dios; incluso el mismo Papa, que piensa que el único a quien debe confesarse es a Dios. Una deprimente injusticia controlada por un poder ciego, cuyo fruto es la separación, el sufrimiento y la pérdida de los lazos familiares y de la propia identidad. [Cannes FF] (27.05.2023)

Things have never been easy with some Catholics, all the more so when the going got hard. The film tells the story of a kidnapped Jewish boy who was born in the wrong time under the wrong circumstances. As a premise for a big drama set against the backdrop of the Italian Risorgimento, it looks promising. Why then did I find the often unnecessarily overblown music the most dramatic? The boy experiences a lot in the first act, but after the first sermon, only the traditional brainwashing begins, which is not bad by any means, but gives little insight into the protagonist's psyche. The potentially interesting coming of age at the mercy of the Vatican is skipped altogether, as the film wants to have time for the courtroom drama and the gradual decline of this bankrupt state, and in the process, the main character literally fades away. (31.10.2023)

A very sad true story of a six-year-old boy who was torn from the arms of his Jewish family to convert to the Christian faith, one of monstrous practices of the Church. The family has been trying for years to get the boy back home, but to no avail, and little Edgardo has a difficult, almost impossible task ahead of him: to remain faithful to his family and his faith despite years of brainwashing, which results in his utter ambivalence. The most heartbreaking scene is the reunion years later with his mother, who is on her deathbed. The film has a fantastic production design, the performances of all the main actors are admirable, my only criticism would be the running time (I would have cut it by 20 minutes), and the dramatic music is a bit too religious at times, but otherwise it is definitely worth seeing. [Festival de Cannes 2023] (29.05.2023)