Rapito Marco Bellocchio

In Bologna, in 1852, Momolo and Mariana Mortara, who are Jewish, welcome their sixth child. When he is six months old, one of their servants secretly baptises little Edgardo. Six years later, the clergy come to take him from his family to raise him in Rome. Papal law is beyond dispute: he must receive a Catholic education, including prayers and religious instruction. Devastated, Edgardo’s parents will do everything in their power to get their son back. The case makes headlines in the national press and even beyond the country’s borders, but the Pope, the supreme authority, refuses to yield. The parents will only be able to get their son back if they convert to Christianity.

Not suitable for under-16s.