Antonio Guerra

A social worker dedicates himself to the recovery of children who have dropped out of school in the streets of Naples thanks to the circus arts. His work, however, is not well received by the families of the neighborhood and the courage of these children, with their stilts and their red noses, will clash with the harsh reality.

In the immediate post-war period, amidst the rubble of a poverty-ridden Naples, two kids, Carmine and Celestina, try to survive as best they can by helping each other out. One night, they secretly board a ship bound for New York to reach Celestina’s sister, who emigrated to America several years earlier. The two children join the many Italian emigrants seeking a new life in America and arrive in an unknown metropolis, which, after several misadventures, they will learn to call home.

Carmine is a thirteen-year-old boy who is forced to work with his father, spending his adolescence torn between desires and loves. One day, he meets a girl, and in his eagerness to get noticed by her, he makes a mistake that will cost him dearly.