I have just seen the amazing new movie ‘Gomorra’ directed by Matteo Garrone which was rightly hailed at the latest Cannes Film Festival.
Imagine the Baltimore of HBO’s ‘The Wire’ transferred to the mean streets of Naples and you’ll get a flavour of its power. It oozes authenticity mixing remarkable performances by non-actors and actors who speak with such a strong Neapolitan and Casalese dialect that it has to be subtitled even for Italian audiences.
The movie interweaves the stories of six individuals:
Don Ciro hands out wads of cash to the members of clan families where the bread winner has been jailed or killed. He is like a jobsworth accountant who comes to learn that if you deal with shit your hands get dirty.
Totò is a 13 year old boy impatient to grow up and become a fully fledged member of the Camorra. He is intelligent and streetwise and represents the type of kid who needs to be shown a different way of living is possible.
Marco e Ciro imagine they are in Brian de Palma’s Scarface. They are scavengers who dream of becoming big league mobsters but eventually bite off more than they can chew.
Roberto is a young graduate persuaded against his better judgement to work with Franco in the illegal disposal of toxic waste. His story links the Camorra’s activities to the current political hot potato of rubbish being left uncollected in the streets of Naples.
Pasquale is an expert dressmaker whose talents are exploited by a sweatshop owner and who turns to clandestine work with a rival firm run by Chinese immigrants with predictable consequences.
The book on which the movie is based is by courageous 28 year old journalist Roberto Saviano who exposes the growing power of the Camorra, frequently referred to as the Mafia of Naples. Saviano is now under armed escort wherever he goes. He has said : “It is not what I wrote that is dangerous. It is that it was read by so many people that makes it dangerous.”
Beppe Grillo wrote a piece about the book in his blog in which he rightly says that it should be a set book in schools.
In the cinema where I saw the movie there were a group of about a dozen teenagers who were clearly expecting a fast moving drama with lots of glamorised violence. The film does not pander to such tastes and they got restless during the slow bits (irritating the hell out the rest of the paying audience). Ironically, this is just the age group that needs to see (and understand) the movie which exposes a festering wound in Italy. For the moment this is confined to the Naples area, feeding on the high unemployment and limited prospects in this region but if it is not checked soon it will obviously spread.
The corrupt and inept Berlusconi government are part of the problem and not the cure. They will do nothing to change the situation – it is a root and branch cultural impetus from citizens that is needed. This begins with education and the fact that the movie has been made is important because it places the issues into the realm of Popular Culture which changes hearts and minds more than political rhetoric.
It’s good to learn that IFC Entertainment has acquired U.S. distribution rights to the Grand Prix winner “Gomorra” . The issues it raises are not confined to Italy and it’s a movie that should be seen worldwide.
Here is the trailor for the movie:
You can read an Article about Saviano in The Independent
