Italianetz

Italianetz (The Italian), (2005). Director: Andrei Kravchuk. Film, Russia.

The opening scenes of Italianetz took me back 2 years, to the time I first arrived in Far East Russia.

Walking across the icy tarmac, trying not to huddle against the other surly travellers- taking in an astounding landscape of white and gradual shades of grey.

The film follows Vanya, a 6 year old boy who lives in an orphanage. The orphanage of the film could have been any that I have visited in Russia. The same painted concrete walls, bulky staircases, big iron gates.

Vanya is lucky to live in the orphanage of the film. Sure he can’t read, he’s usually cold, has no parents, and the elders he looks to for help are the 14-15 year old orphans, led by Kolyan.

Kolyan and the older orphans rule over the other children, control the money and anything that could fetch a price (including the girls), administer discipline at their own discretion and decide the futures of the children.

But to Vanya, Kolyan seems fair and tries to give him direction. The older children don’t abuse the younger ones in this orphanage- the director is only selling the children in illegal adoption rackets, not to the mafia or the sex industry. As far as he’s aware.
No one is trying to hurt Vanya- until he runs away, in search of his birth mother.



Vanya’s story is one of courage and hope. But what about the others?

There are over seven hundred thousand (700 000) of orphans living in orphanages throughout Russia today, sleeping on the same rickety bunk beds; eating the same gruelish kasha day in, day out; running through the same grey concrete buildings with heavy wooden doors- they also live in hope that someday, someone will come for them.

A mother, a father- someone they can belong to. But until that golden day arrives, they continue going about the business of surviving.