Mimi, a young boy from a poor part of Calabria, finds his call on life running all over the beautiful countryside of that enchanting part of Italy. Life is hard for Mimi's father. Nicola, his father, owns a small piece of land, where he ekes out a life for himself and his wife and three children. He is also an orderly in the local psychiatric hospital where sometimes he is beaten by inmates.
The new bus that takes the children to school. Mimi goes through the motions, putting his small brother inside and then proceeds to try to beat the bus, arriving before it does to the village where they go to school. Felice, noticing how good the boy is, begins encouraging him to run. Felice has a bad leg, something he claims resulted from a kick from a mule. In reality, he was born crippled.
The interaction between the kind Felice and Mimi enrages Nicola. He wants his son to have a better life than him, having a privilege he never had. Mimi's passion for running consumes him. When Felice enters him in an important race for young runners, Mimi qualifies to go to the finals in Rome. By then, his father comes around to recognize the gift the boy has and he makes peace with Felice, the man whose influence in the child was decisive in the success and recognition Mimi gets at the end.
An inspirational film by Luigi Comencini, who also collaborated in the screenplay. The main idea points to the fact about how a passion for something, in this case, the sport of running, can give a poor man without a certain future, a goal to improve his lot in life. A great actor, Gian Maria Volonte is appealing as Felice, the bus driver that sees the potential he never had in a young boy. Diego Abatantuono, plays the father. Santo Polimeno makes a good Mimi.
The new bus that takes the children to school. Mimi goes through the motions, putting his small brother inside and then proceeds to try to beat the bus, arriving before it does to the village where they go to school. Felice, noticing how good the boy is, begins encouraging him to run. Felice has a bad leg, something he claims resulted from a kick from a mule. In reality, he was born crippled.
The interaction between the kind Felice and Mimi enrages Nicola. He wants his son to have a better life than him, having a privilege he never had. Mimi's passion for running consumes him. When Felice enters him in an important race for young runners, Mimi qualifies to go to the finals in Rome. By then, his father comes around to recognize the gift the boy has and he makes peace with Felice, the man whose influence in the child was decisive in the success and recognition Mimi gets at the end.
An inspirational film by Luigi Comencini, who also collaborated in the screenplay. The main idea points to the fact about how a passion for something, in this case, the sport of running, can give a poor man without a certain future, a goal to improve his lot in life. A great actor, Gian Maria Volonte is appealing as Felice, the bus driver that sees the potential he never had in a young boy. Diego Abatantuono, plays the father. Santo Polimeno makes a good Mimi.