The Black Brothers

The Swiss canton of Ticino, 19th century. In a remote mountain village, Giorgio, 14, leads a harsh but happy life - until the day his mother has a serious accident. The only way his father can pay the doctor is ... by selling Giorgio. 40 francs is what Giorgio's father gets from the "Man with the Scar," who resells the boys he buys in Switzerland to prosperous chimney-sweep agents in Milan. There, Giorgio and his friend Alfredo become "spazzacamini," forced to work in narrow, soot-filled chimneys. For the boys, it's an exciting adventure: the big city, the secret crypt beneath a church, the pretty, but gravely ill Angeletta, his master's daughter... Giorgio is in luck, for he is treated well by his master Battista, even though Battista's wife and son enjoy tormenting him. However the work is hard and lurking on the streets are the Wolves, a gang that takes every opportunity to bully the chimney sweep boys. But then Giorgio meets Alfredo again who has formed the Black Brothers gang, which accepts Giorgio as a member. The group swears to help one another; together they fight against all hostile forces, against injustice, against the Wolves, and plan to escape back to Ticino. (HBO Europe)