I Am

A young boy, known only as Mongrel, escapes from the orphanage and sets out down river to find his mother. Things don’t go well between them and the boy takes refuge in an abandoned barge while eking out a living by scrounging scrap metal. Slowly he learns to trust the little girl who lives nearby and has learned to hate herself. This drama of living on the streets takes its place beside Truffaut’s The 400 Blows and Bresson's Mouchette as one of the most remarkable and clear-eyed confrontations with the harshness and dignity of childhood. Kedzierzawska employs a simple and unflinching style which concentrates on close-ups of the face of her protagonist. Piotr Jagielski gives one of those memorably strong performances of which young children seem so capable. The score by Michael Nyman (who contributed so much to the success of Peter Greenaway’s films) is a highlight.

An outstandingly good drama…near-perfectly made.

Variety