Falkehjerte

KATJA(9) is a passionate birdwatcher. She lives in a suburb on the outskirts of Copenhagen; but in reality she lives in a world of her own. Her parents career ambitions leave little room for Katja. Rather than play with other children, she prefers to set off into the forest nearby. There she seeks adventure: Katja owns a pair of high-powered binoculars. Perched on a secret tree deep in the forest, she keeps track of a nest of peregrine falcons. The mother feeds the young and is teaching them to fly. One day, a thunderstorm moves in as Katja watches. Gale force winds knock the nest and KIIIK, the youngest falcon, out of the tree. Katja rescues KIIIK and fights her way through the driving rain. She seeks refuge in the back of a truck parked at the edge of the forest. Exhausted, she falls asleep.

Katja gets a rude shock when she wakes up. She and KIIIK are in a truck moving over unfamiliar mountain ranges at high speed. The truck slows in the harbour area of an Italian port. The sudden honk of a car horn causes KIIIK to bolt from the truck. Katja jumps out after him, but he's gone. Katja realises she is lost in a strange city where people speak a language she doesn't understand. How is she going to find KIIIK?Through her binoculars she sees a band of boys stealing watermelon. They notice her looking and surround her. One of them has a knife. "Tu Fame?". She is terrified. CARLO (6) cuts a slice of watermelon and offers it to her. The brothers FRANCESCO(12), PAOLO (10), MAURO (8) and Carlo laugh. Dubious but still hungry she follows them to their usual hangout, the church square filled with vendors, artists, shops and the very rich DON FANUCCI's Restaurant. Don Fanucci is also interested in birds. He has a scalpel and stuffs them for a hobby!

Katja find KIIIK in a cage, caught by the street vendor. He wants 200,000 Lire for him -an enormous sum. How is she going to raise the money? The boys comes to the rescue. They teach her their trade: hustling tourists, selling Kleenex and lighters. Katja learns a little Italian and gets good at driving a hard bargain. Finally, she saves up the money she needs. On the way to buy KIIIK back, however; she is mugged by a couple of hardened street punks who steal all her cash. In the meantime, Don Fanucci buys the little falcon for his collection. Katja and the boys tail him to his villa and rescue KIIIK minutes before the scalpel.

A hair-raising chase through the alleys of the city ensues, with Don Fanucci and his men breathing down their necks. They make it to safety. After a moving farewell to her new friends, Katja and KIIIK finds the truck stop and thumbs a ride to Denmark. Katja has changed. Back home she finds out that the kids in her neighbourhood are fun to play with. And last but not least, she sets KIIIK free. The young falcon flies up to re-unite with his family in the forest. (official distributor synopsis)