Daily Movie Rec 8/28/2023

The Children Are Watching Us (1944)

"Don't leave me alone. I can't be alone."

Directed by: Vittorio De Sica

Cinematography by: Giuseppe Caracciolo & Romolo Garroni

Country: Italy

Genre: Drama

Plot:

A confused four-year-old struggles to make sense of his parents' troubled marriage, but his naivety prevents him from understanding the full extent of the consequences at play. Based on the novel Pricò by Cesare Giulio Viola.

Reasons to watch:

This wrecking-ball family drama was the first major step forward in Vittorio De Sica's unforgettable legacy, giving audiences a full taste of the generational filmmaker that was to come. The Children Are Watching Us is gentle, yet devastating, building to a climax bleak enough to challenge even the decade's most dismal noirs, as tear-streaked faces and turned backs demonstrate that not everything can be forgiven - that the scars of abandonment run fast and run deep.

[While watching, it also made me wonder if, even before death, parental divorce is some kid's first encounter with finality. Mortality of course has its own trials for a child to wrap their head around, but at some point, there must be an eventual acceptance of "this person is gone forever and not coming back." But the mental turmoil of something being final in a way that's life-altering, in a way that involves genuine loss, when both people still exist (e.g., an ended marriage) seems like - on a certain level - it might be even more difficult and take even longer for a child to make sense of than death. Seems like a very unfair toll to have to pay. Regardless, it really rings true that quote from Once Upon a Time in Anatolia: "It's the kids who suffer in the end, Doctor. Everyone pays for the things they do. But kids pay for the sins of adults." (Not that I'm trying to demonize divorce or imply that it's a sin, and it's probably the healthiest outcome for some relationships, but it's still unfortunate that consequences can rain down on those least deserving of it, even feeling at fault in some way.)]

Where to watch:

The Criterion Channel