Review of Die schwarzen Brüder

I saw this wonderfully portrayed sort of coming of age story from 19th century Italy, in German. The acting and script writing is very good, with lots of nuanced moments. The sets and cinematography are first rate; smokey, dark and dirty settings add much to the atmosphere. It's a child-friendly story that exposes (without over exposing) child labor of the time. The cruelty of the time is present but the human and child spirit endures. Other reviews haven't been so positive and this might have to do with English translation. Predictable as it may be the story was especially appealing to my 12 yo.