Io Capitano achieved an overall appreciation score of 87.9%. Most members found this compassionate, difficult to watch but thought provoking. However, others found it too depressing, gruesome and improbable. Some of the comments submitted:
- A harrowing but compassionate rendering of one of the 21st century’s most terrible dilemmas – how to keep a country’s most valuable assets, ie its people, from risking all in search of a better future away from home.
- Very moving. I don’t think people are too aware or appreciate what struggles people have to go through to want a better life when their country lets them down.
- A very compassionate look at the people trafficking problem across Africa and on to Europe.
- Thought provoking and difficult to watch at times. Sadly all too true. Brilliant cinematography – the film stayed in my head for hours afterwards, and the next day!
- Superb film. Great acting and cinematography. Sustained suspense throughout.
- Best film at CFS. Great filmography and actors. Emotional! Gritty and painful to watch some parts. I can only imagine it is realistic.
- A brutal depiction of life of an immigrant yet some very poignant moments, wonderfully portrayed.
- Tense and sad but uplifting – made me realise how lucky we are in the west. Fantastic, memorable scenes – such as the terrifying road trip across the Sahara. Beautiful, convincing authentic acting. The sort of film which keeps me coming back to film soc.
- Very good film, but found torture scenes hard to watch, too graphic for me.
- Went from enjoyable to unbearably hideous. Was it realistic? I expect it was in parts but mixed in with really odd sections. Excellent lead actor but 16? Really? A nice father figure migrant who could build a fountain from a photo? Why dwell on the torture chamber? Please bring back The Quiet Girl and A Yak in the Classroom on repeat.
- A gripping film following the journey and plight of migrants seeking what they perceived to be a better life in Europe. The film shows the brutality these migrants are faced with along the way. But the beauty of the films lies with the paradoxical juxtapositions that depict a gruesome journey yet set against sweeping vista of the Sahara and beyond. The human exploitation depicts modern slavery at its worse while magical realism interweave the plots with floating souls and angels, taking away the rough edges of brutal realism. I can see some audience may dislike the latter but as a narrative device, it is a much needed contrast. I would have liked more scenes depicting this. I like that the ending does not give any defining conclusion to the migrant’s fate. The story focuses more on the character development of the protagonist who has gone a long way from a humble timid life to commanding a boatload of people like a captain.
- Fascinating film, but I found it quite distressing to watch at times.
- Very well made film but the story line is a bit romanticised, claiming a 16 year old could survive such a journey and take on the responsibility of people who I am sure some of whom would have been more capable of steering the boat and keeping the people under control – well acted by the two boys.
- I found it hard to rate this. It was a powerful film, and deserves to be shown in those countries where migration is an issue, to deter migrants and deter the traffickers. Beyond understanding more on the complexity of the dangers of the route I felt the effect on the viewer was questionable. I did not stay and joined some others leaving. In the twenty years of being in the theatre the last few years have shown increasingly traumatic films. There is a point at which education becomes counterproductive when indigestible.
- Started well but in an apparent determination to avoid being just a documentary became something of a Boys Own thriller, ending absurdly.
- Great music and acting from Seydou Sarr. Film was sentimental and at times improbable.
- Utterly gruesome and depressing.