11-year-old Christian lives with his Italian mother Gioia in poverty on the island of Ischia. His German father died in a rescue mission before Christian was born. The kind boy had an unremarkable and calm life until, one day, his grandfather Carl Schneibel finds him. Schneibel is a wealthy businessman who had never seen Christian before. Since the old lonely man has no heir, he decides to take Christian in and offer him a good education. Schneibel has never been on good terms with his son and never liked his son’s choice of wife, so he decides that Gioia must not come along. Despite, Gioia does not wish to obstruct her son’s future and allows him to go. Thanks to his good nature and his kind ways, Christian wins the heart of his grandfather and changes his life for the better.
Acting
Mario Adorf's gruff-to-puddle transformation is *chef's kiss*
Cinematography
Ischia looks so good you'll check ferry prices
Director
Gianfranco Albano
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Mario Adorf, Germany's most beloved character actor, reportedly took this role specifically because he wanted to work in Italy again—his mother was Italian.
This is actually a loose adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's 'Little Lord Fauntleroy,' but relocated to Ischia and stripped of the American class fantasy—here, the poverty is Mediterranean, not romanticized.
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