Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

SoftInloveRox Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Tacticalin An absolute waste of money

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

gdeangel I saw this film originally in 1999 with with an Italian 101 class. My recollection was that the film told of the tribulations of a bunch of ruffian Italian school kids who are given hope by an idealist teacher (a familiar theme, think "Stand and Deliver", "Teachers", etc.) However, on recently watching it again, I was impressed with how the story is really a very unique social commentary on Northern and Southern Italy in the pre-EU days.The plights of the South are conveyed in third-grader's essays, showing how children absorb the environment, but retain the innocence that could make it possible for them to turn out all right. As an instructional Italian film, you are bound to be overwhelmed by some of the most colorful phrases imaginable for swearing at people. But they are all delivered by 9-year-olds who, with their creative gestures, can clearly be seen as recordings of their own observations of adults.This film may not be as socially relevant as it was in 1999, since the Euro and free trade have transformed much of Europe. But with Italy's economic status being regarded as presently unstable, I think this film is worth watching even today. You'll laugh as you are appalled at the same time by the children's view of the world around them. It is a theme that could be applied to the children of any oppressed culture.

rotrel A perfect film, probably the best description of a difficult teacher-student interaction in a destitute neighborhood. Intense, sincere, shocking, never a dull moment. Paolo Villaggio is inimitable as the Professor who comes from Northern Italy to a village of Southern Italy with all the ideals of a dedicated teacher, as he finds himself immersed in the poverty and crime stricken city of Corzano. And the kids! these little rascals are just amazing. In my opinion, this is the best movie ever made by Lina Wertmuller, far from her past naive left-wing production. It would be nice that IMDb show its alternate title 'Ciao, Professore' as an option: it took me a while to figure out that the movie I had watched was the same as "Io speriamo che me la cavo".

juancalzetta This movie is great for those who:-love Italian culture-love Italian kids-love southern Italian dialectThis movie haunted me at movie stores since I became interested in foreign films 4 or 5 years ago. Glaring and obnoxious as its cover is, I finally rented it. All in all a decent comedy.In my ratings scale, comedies are graded more on their humor than their story line. In the case of this movie, that is a good thing. A weak story of coincidence, a northern italian professor ends up teaching in the chaos that is Italy southern (Napoli).I loved the movie because I understand italian well enough to not read the satisfactory subtitles and because the kids were luminous compared to the usual fumbling kiddie actors; these ones were adorable and their lines hilarious.Other notes: There is a lot of vulgarity in this movie, as is typical in the south. The lead, a likeable Paolo Villaggio, plays foil for the wild kids. The story is simple and dismissable. The cinematography is standard, blessed by the wondrous ambient that is the dilapidated South. A normally celebrated Wertmuller seems to have chosen an easy project here. The movie was produced by media mogul Silvio Berlusconi (vaffa!).Ultimately it's a movie to waste 90 min, but it was enjoyable and will certainly rouse a smile when I see it on the shelves next time.6/10, JCC

tkingsbu This movie is a true gem...even with all the swearing it still retains an almost disney like innocence. The Italian children that are in this movie will absolutely amaze you...most north-american style child actors are guilty of either complete lack of talent, or of being hams...not so here.... not to say many of the scene's aren't over the top..they are...but they are done so well, and the comedy and drama handled so deftly you take it all in stride.... This movie is on par with another foreign film called "Children of Heaven"....different subject matter, but same sense of comedy and drama.