Most likely, this Italian film will never reach a U.S. theater.  There were so many technical faults that they obliterated the experience.  The camera was not stabilized (jumpy, jerky) and it frequently lost focus.  The editing of the transitions between scenes and between the current storyline and the flashbacks was terrible.  Blinding light was over-used to emphasize tension and demark transitions in the storyline.  And finally, the subtitles were frequently unreadable because they were white upon white background.

            Furthermore, the first three quarters of the film dwelled at length on the three teenage boys, their rebellion, their angst, their acting out and their comradeship.  It was a flat progression of repetitious events.  There was effectively no storyline arc until the end of the film.  Then some of the previous events began to make sense.  Regardless, only Alessandro looked young enough to be in high school.  The other two were older, easily mid to late twenties and this detracted from the message.

            In retrospect, a tale of three lost boys has been told before, although there are some new twists here.  Unfortunately, the causal innuendos were too vague and they left the audience dangling to wonder about what was really going on.  Someone in our audience suggested that it was an Italian art puzzle to be pondered and possibly solved, since there were allusions to Dante's journey.  

            This is a dark tale about things unsaid and unresolved.  It is a character study and it could have been quite interesting except for all the glitches mentioned above.  During a critique session after the showing, it was suggested that this director had potential and we should watch for him.  Maybe so, but I plan to move on.

            Regardless of other problems the acting was notable.  We learned toward the end of the film that the youngest looking, Alessandro is the protagonist and it is his story which threads through the screenplay until the final resolution.  His acting was excellent but it isn't until the final twenty minutes of the film that he really shines.  His friend, Ferdi Costronovo has a motorbike that gives him a sense of freedom and control of his life.  I thought he played the part well as a forever malcontented, Jimmy Dean type character.  The third boy, Toni, was in the story as an initial supporting character with little contribution to the plot. 

            Reviewed January 13, 2005 at the International Film Festival.

            Not rated but probably "R" for nudity and a rape scene.