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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Dark Tales Of Old Napoli, October 5, 2009 Gomorrah was one of the old testament cities judged and laid waste by God on the grounds of it's sin and corruption.
Scampia is a district in contemporary Naples.
At first glance, the council estate in Scampia on which the majority of Matteo Garrone's "Gomorrah" takes place appears to be your usual raffish, rough-around-the-edges melting pot of low income families, wannabes, try-hards and dreamers: there's Toto, who works as a delivery boy for his mother's grocery store; Pasquale, who works as the lead tailor in a factory which creates high-end fashion designs; Roberto who, after years of unemployment has just managed to land a prestigious job with a councilor, Franco, and is in the process of learning the ropes; Ciro, who, at first glance, appears to be a kindly, middle-aged building manager who looks after the welfare of families on the estate; then there are Marco and Ciro, two bored teenagers who spend their days imitating Al Pacino in "Scarface" and getting into trouble. However, before the final percussive strains of the film's minimalist soundtrack play out over some devastatingly well-placed captions which detail the current reach of contemporary organised crime, the comparisons between the corrupt old testament city-state and the contemporary housing estate will have been made explicit in the most visceral way possible and the viewer will observe just how corruption and criminality insinuates its way into virtually every level of Neapolitan society (as well as every one of the previously mentioned characters' lives).
The lexicon of modern cinema has inculcated contemporary audiences with a fascination of all things Mafiosi (or "Camorra" as the Neapolitan organisation is known). Cinematic short-hand has bombarded us with a fictionalized, glamourous world of sleek suits, pearl-handled revolvers and witty profanity. "Gomorrah", although a work of fiction, is not concerned with screen artifice or the rewards reaped by crime; it is explicitly concerned with those who have to live under the yoke and suffer the consequences of organised crime's insinuation into every level of private and public life.
If you want to see what a world ruled by Tony Soprano or Vito Corleone would really look like, then look no further. But believe me, its not pretty. And there is very little in the way of "honour" to be seen here.
Garrone eschews the grandiose operatic flourishes of a Scorsese or a Coppola and instead favours a laconic, naturalistic tone which resembles the Neo-Realism of Rossellini's, Open City. Many of the film's scenes have an almost improvised quality to them which only compounds the frighteningly realistic nature of the film. Garrone doesn't spoon-feed the plot or the relationships between the characters to you and, depending on how eagle-eyed you are, it may take you a fair deal of time to ascertain just 'what is what' and 'who is who to whom'. Make no bones about it - this is not a film to be watched whilst surfing the internet on your mobile phone; this is a film to which you must pay full attention.
An epic in every sense of the world and probably the best big-screen feature ever made about the Mafia/Camorra, I recommend it unreservedly.
It makes an ideal companion piece to Roberto Saviano's expose of the Neapolitan crime syndicates, which I haven't read, but which apparently provided the film's inspiration, as well as the more conventionally told, but similarly brilliant tale of the Milanese Mafia, Romanzo criminale / Crime Novel (Original Italian Version - with English Subtitles), and Ricky Tognazzi's chilling examination of a group of "sitting-duck" Police Bodyguards, La Scorta.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Gomorrah, October 14, 2009 This review is from: Gomorrah (The Criterion Collection) (DVD) I read Roberto Saviano's nonfiction expose on the Cammora crime syndicate and the Naples crime scene in general. Hearing about that a movie was being adapted I was interested to see how the film would take a very dense nonfiction work and turn it into film. Hence Gomorrah released by IFC- which thankfully started VOD distribution which is how I saw the film. The film as it is, is an unflinching portrayl of crime, like Gillo Pontecorvo's seminal Battle of Algiers or City of God shot on location, mixing actors and non-actors ( or in the case of some actors actual Camorra associates). It is not romantic or action packed. It is however good at mixing the facts of Saviano's book into largely fictionalized plotlines as it follows five stories from Don Ciro, a bagman who delivers money to family members of jailed criminals, to Franco a ruthless businessman who does whatever it takes to aquire land for companies to dump toxic waste. Outside of those theres Pasquale working at crafting counterfit clothes, one of the biggest jobs near the port of Naples. And then theres the story of youths Toto who's been initiated into a gang and Marco and Ciro, two wannabe gangsters who wave guns around angering actual gangsters. The story of the two kids was one of the more lasting stories of Saviano's book and smartly ends the film.
Like I said the major accomplisment of the movie is taking the facts of the book and portraying them onto film. The movie as it is isn't for those weened on Scarface or The Wire. Its more an uncompromising, realistic, depiction of crime and the effect it has on people. The actors are naturalistic and good with the standout being Toni Servilo as Franco. Mostly though the filmmakers and writers are the reason the movie works making an unromanticized crime film. They obviously wanted to respect Saviano's sacrifice and they've done so. If theres one thing to say against it most might not like the films tone. In its attempt to be as realistic as possible respecting their subject, not a whole lot happens in the film action wise which is why it has been called boring by some. The characters in my opinion and their journey from begining to end were interesting but thats me. Others might not like the film for that fact, something stressed by the films need for realism. Outside of that the film, and Saviano's book are an interesting combination in my opinon.
The film might not be for everyone but for those who want an unflinching view of crime this is the film to see, one that will be marked as a classic in the future in my opinion. I'm glad Criterion picked up the film for home release even though I have not seen the finished product. With them releasing it for home markets I'm sure the DVD will have a great mix of features that wouldn't be put on other releases. Can't wait to see it.
Now that I've seen the disc I have to say the picture is absolutely fantastic. I've never had a bad experience and Criterions release of this recent film is absolutely amazing in terms of audio/visual quality making me wonder how it would look on Blu-Ray in comparision. The extras are pretty good with a load of interviews. Interviews with Matteo Garrone and Toni Servillo are lengthy dialogues recorded especially for Criterion. Most of the other materials were ported from other editions of the movie. Theres an hour long making of documentary, deleted scenes, interviews with Servillo and several other actors and best of all a nearly hour long interview with Author Roberto Saviano who imparts a lot of information from his book. While the movie covered topics Saviano seeks to cover a lot of facts and for anyone who hasn't read his book its an interesting segment. If you're a fan of the movie Criterion definitely delivered the version to own whether it be in Standard or Blu. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you?
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars One of this year's best!, May 1, 2009 Italian movie that comes out in the States in 2009. It reminds me of 'Traffic', the way that it tells the story of a scourge that infiltrates society at all levels. In 'Traffic', it was drugs. In 'Gomorrah', the problem is the mafia, and it's control over the slums of Naples. It shows corruption at all levels - governmental, business, and even how the youth get corrupted at such a young age. There are several overlapping storylines, and while it can be a little difficult to follow at times, it's worth the effort. The best foreign movie I've seen since this year, and one of the year's best overall. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews Was this review helpful to you?
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