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The Last Time We Were Children

Name: The Last Time We Were Children
Director: Claudio Bisio
Released: 2023
Duration: 106 min

Representation Score

6.2/10

Good

2023

Director

Claudio Bisio

Runtime

106 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The film uses a historical setting to critique the systemic oppression of the 1940s. By centering a diverse group of children, it challenges conventional wartime narratives and highlights the influence of underrepresented individuals. The film’s strength lies in its portrayal of friendship that bridges religious and cultural divides. The bond between a Jewish boy, an orphan, and the son of a Fascist official serves as a powerful metaphor for overcoming social and religious barriers. However, the film lacks representation for LGBTQ+ identities and characters with disabilities. While the focus on childhood ability to act is progressive, these gaps limit the film's inclusivity.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Last Time We Were Children have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film does not include explicit LGBTQ+ identities or non-traditional gender expressions. It maintains a neutral stance without using negative stereotypes.

How does The Last Time We Were Children portray gender?

Fair

Children play a key role in challenging traditional male leadership. Vanda offers an independent female viewpoint outside of traditional family structures.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Last Time We Were Children?

Excellent

The story disrupts uniformity by focusing on Riccardo, a Jewish boy. The friendship between children from different social and ethnic backgrounds critiques broader racial persecution.

How does The Last Time We Were Children represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film criticizes nationalist institutions by showing Fascist and German forces as destructive. It emphasizes human connections over state-imposed ideology and patriotism.

Does The Last Time We Were Children include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no characters with visible or invisible disabilities mentioned in the story.

Present on Screen

Strong portrayal of religious and ethnic diversity through central friendship.
Effective criticism of Fascist and nationalist institutions.
Challenges traditional gender roles by highlighting children's influence.

Limited or Absent

Lack of explicit LGBTQ+ representation or non-traditional gender expressions.
No characters with visible or invisible disabilities.
Limited focus on diverse gender perspectives beyond the main group of children.

Official Synopsis

Rome, summer 1943. Four children play war while the bombs of real war explode around them. Italo is the rich son of the Federal, Cosimo has his father in confinement and an atavistic hunger, Vanda is an orphan and a believer, Riccardo comes from a wealthy Jewish family. They are different but they don't know it and between them "the greatest friendship in the world" is born, impervious to the divisions of history that bloodies Europe. But on October 16 the Jewish boy is taken away by the Germans together with over a thousand people from the Ghetto. Thanks to Italo's father Federale, the three friends believe they know where he is and, to honor the "spit pact", decide to leave in secret to convince the Germans to free their friend. Yet another imaginative mission becomes reality, the three children travel alone in an Italy exhausted by war, among disbanded soldiers, deserters, occupying German troops, exhausted and hungry populations.

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