Nicholas' Gift

A co-production between Italy and the United States, it stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Alan Bates as an American couple who, after their son was mortally wounded during a family vacation in Italy, decide to donate the child's organs. The film received positive reviews and earned Curtis a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance.

Nicholas' Gift
DVD cover
Written by	Christine Berardo
Directed by	Robert Markowitz
Starring	Jamie Lee Curtis Alan Bates
Composer	Carlo Siliotto
Country of origin	Italy United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Lorenzo Minoli Judd Parkin
Producer	Russell Kagan
Cinematography	Raffaele Mertes
Editor	David Beatty
Running time	90 minutes
Production companies	Lux Vide Mediaset Five Mile River Films
Original release
Network	Canale 5 (Italy) CBS (United States)
Release	April 21, 1998 (1998-04-21)

Fact based drama about an American couple on vacation in Italy in 1994 with their two children who are attacked and shot by highway bandits. Shortly they discover that their son (named and based on Nicholas Green) is brain dead. The parents are then faced with the hard decision to donate the boy's organs which ultimately led to saving the lives of seven seriously ill Italian patients.

• Jamie Lee Curtis as Maggie Green
• Alan Bates as Reg Green
• Gene Wexler as Nicholas Green
• Hallie Eisenberg as Eleanor Green
• Isabella Ferrari as Alessandra Grascia
• Anita Zagaria as Anna Bianchi
• Roberto Bisacco as Dr. Cipriano
• Ennio Coltorti as Dr. Santucci
• Nazzareno Costantini as Angelo Bianchi
• Manrico Gammarota as Paolo Bianchi
• Daniele Pio as Stefano Bianchi
• Carlo Cartier as Inspector Tramontana
• Jeremy Zimmermann as Richard Brown

Critical response

Tom Jicha of the Sun-Sentinel was very positive about the film, describing it as "a wonderfully poignant movie that conveys an important message worthy of the widest possible circulation." In his review for The New York Times, Rick Lyman wrote that "a veteran cast pushing a commendable message is not quite enough to elevate Nicholas' Gift above being a by-the-numbers tear-jerker." The Deseret News praised the film for "superb performances by Jamie Lee Curtis and Alan Bates, tight steering by an award-winning director, an Italian crew schooled in feature film making, an intelligent script based on a riveting real-life story, and an almost religious commitment from everyone involved in the project to make a film worthy of its subjects."

Awards and nominations