Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

kenjha A couple of street kids become involved with some unsavory characters and end up in a prison for juvenile delinquents. De Sica was a leader of the Italian neo-realism movement, and this is celebrated as the earliest of his masterpieces. Unfortunately, it is not in the same class as "Bicycle Thieves" and "Umberto D." It is ironic that this is (or was) regarded as realistic because it has some embarrassingly melodramatic scenes. While the two kid actors are pretty good, the adults are all portrayed as ruthless, one-dimensional villains, showing little regard for the troubled youth. Perhaps De Sica did this on purpose to expose the conditions at such places in Italy, but it doesn't make for good drama.

bandw This movie follows a couple of young teenage friends (Pasquale and Giuseppe) who are trying to survive, by shining shoes, in the difficult conditions in Italy after WWII. Pasquale is homeless and has been sleeping in elevators while Giuseppe is a bit better off, having a mother and brother living. However, it is Giuseppe's brother who involves the two friends in selling army blankets on the black market. From their rather innocent involvement in this scheme the boys are ultimately arrested and sent to a prison for juveniles. The bulk of the movie takes place in the prison and it is there that things start going very wrong for the two friends, leading to an ultimate tragedy. For me the power of the movie lies in its depiction of how a society on its ass creates a toxic environment that grinds people up in a downward spiral that they are powerless to control. I did not get the sense of any overarching evil on anybody's part--people on all levels were just tying to get by. The movie portrays how the social structure was overwhelmed in its attempt to climb out of the hole left by the war.There were some things that seemed inconsistent with the stark realism. The two friends are seen saving up to buy a horse that is being rented out to upper class people. I appreciate the value of the horse as a symbol of freedom and how people who are down can still have dreams, but was it realistic to think that the kids could buy the horse on income from shining shoes? The musical score often intruded with a sentimentality that seemed out of place. For kids who were supposedly on the verge of starvation, the kids in the prison seemed remarkably healthy, even the small kid with tuberculosis.I found the commentary track on the DVD to be of interest, since it made some points that I would otherwise not have noticed, like how the filming of the two friends mimics their relationship--close together on the screen at first and later separated.This is an example of how a quality movie can inform you about a small slice of history in a more effective manner than reading history books.

MartinHafer I am a huge admirer of the films directed by Vittorio De Sica during the 1940s. Using what is referred to as the 'neo-realist' style, he was able to craft many brilliant classics using ordinary folks in ordinary situations. So, without stage-bound sets and professional actors, he was able to make films superior to Hollywood--and among the best films ever. Try watching "The Children Are Watching Us", "Umberto D"or "Miracle in Milan" and you'll see what I am talking about--brilliant and compelling fro start to finish. The only negative about the films is that sometimes they can be incredibly depressing--and that is certainly the case with "Umberto D" and "Shoeshine". Depressing, but also amazing.Like the other neo-realist films, this one stars very ordinary folks--lots of kids--not professionals. Considering how hard it is to get realistic portrayals from kids, he really has to be commended for this. And, like this style of film, it was shot throughout Rome in various locations--not sets. And in the process, De Sica really hit a home run--chronicling a very sad period in Italian history.The film is set in Allied occupied Italy circa 1944. Folks are poor and hungry and jobs are hard to come by. Amidst this poverty, two kids (Pasquale and Guiseppe) are inexplicably saving all the money they can to buy a horse! And so, they take odd jobs, shine shoes and scramble to make a buck. When they are nearing their goal, they are tricked into doing a 'simple' job for Giuseppe's brother--and get arrested for stealing blankets from the Allied forces. Surprisingly, despite their age and how non-serious their crime appeared to be, the two are dealt with VERY harshly and are sent to a god-awful juvenile prison--where starvation and neglect are the norm. Most of the film is set in this awful place and it's a fascinating historical portrait of this period of time in recent history. I could say a lot more about what happens there but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Suffice to say, it's all very tragic--and you might want to have some Kleenex nearby just in case.The biggest strength of the film is the realistic acting by all the kids. You don't get the impression they are acting but that really are kids sent to prison. Also, although this might put some off, the story's insistence that it NOT have a nice happy ending is also a plus. Although I don't want a steady supply of depressing movies, I love that the film was not afraid to be sad in order to tell the story effectively. Well worth seeing and if you enjoy this film, I suggest you then try "The Children Are Watching Us" next--it is, in my opinion, De Sica at his directorial finest.

MisterWhiplash Sciuscia, or Shoeshine, tells a tragedy involving two boys, Pasquale and Giuseppe, both of whom try and make money from shining shoes, and also in dealing with black market goods. They hope to buy a horse one day (a wonderful opening shot of a horse running fast gets this point across since this is at its core a film of adolescence), but complications involving Giuseppe's older brother and gang land the two boys in jail just as they have enough for the horse. The film then deals with the boys in the reformatory/prison, over-crowded with conniving, shady influences as cell-mates, as well as the people who run the prison. To tell anymore of the plot would ruin it for the viewer who would go out of his way to find this - it's near impossible to find, which is a shame since The Bicycle Thief and Umberto D. are readily available in most stores and rentals - and it's enough to say that much of the film relies more on character than story. Because the director's dealing with a group of near total unknowns, they come first. This film, by Vittorio De Sica, was made very soon after the War had decimated the country he lived in. He didn't just want to make this movie, he had to- these characters are as real as their backdrop, a country still in the aftermath of a fascist state of affairs, and since the film deals with children there's all the more emotion to it. The only, very minor liability in the film is that the drama in the material isn't as simple and everyday as DeSica's later, more famous efforts; if it was under different direction it could've become a forgettable tearjerker. But the tragedies of these characters, Pasquale and Giuseppe, is splendid in the humanity that they feel, as it unfolds, and by the end it rings as true as any other given neo-realist effort of the late 40's and early 50's. Shoeshine is one of those rarities that may give a tear-jerker to someone who isn't expecting one, and I mean that as a compliment. Note, if you find this tape, it may be rather grainy and slightly shifty in frame, and the subtitles aren't complete- not to downplay the worth of the film in and of itself, however.