Gomorrah (The Criterion Collection) | Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Abruzzese

Gomorrah (The Criterion Collection) | Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Abruzzese | Real Italy ! ! !

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	Gomorrah (The Criterion Collection) Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Abruzzese Criterion, 2009 average customer review:based on 40 reviews view larger image
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Matteo Garrone?s Gomorrah is a stark, shocking vision of contemporary gangsterdom, and one of cinema?s most authentic depictions of organized crime. In this tour de force adaptation of undercover Italian reporter Roberto Saviano?s best-selling exposé of Naples? Mafia underworld (known as the Camorra), Garrone links five disparate tales in which men and children are caught up in a corrupt system that extends from the housing projects to the world of haute couture. Filmed with an exquisite detachment interrupted by bursts of violence, Gomorrah is a shattering, socially engaged true-crime story from a major new voice in Italian cinema.

Stills from Gomorrah (Click for larger image)

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Blood and Concrete

Gomorra is based on Roberto Saviano's 2006 book of the same name, an expose on the criminal syndicate of Naples, but with a very personal element to the story. The book read something like an extended personal essay about how crime permeates nearly every aspect of society in modern-day Naples, especially the depressing concrete suburbs that are home to the world's largest open-air drug market. Hailed as exceptionally brave, the book prompted death threats to the author, who has since lived under 24-hour police protection.

The cinematic version of the film completely removes Saviano's personal story, though this does not harm the impact of the film. In fact, this is one of the most impressive looks at a modern crime organization I've ever seen, and it's easily one of the grimmest. Both book and film should be read and watched by anyone interested in true crime or wanting to know anything about the realities of modern-day Italy.

The film is broken into five separate stories that are ultimately connected, underscoring the criminal underworld's influence on every sector of society. The proceedings will be a bit confusing to those not familiar with the source, since nothing is immediately explained. Over time, as the stories jump around, the conflicts emerge. The plot lines are as follows: a young man begins to apprentice with a businessman who makes deals to dump garbage and toxic waste all over the Italian countryside; a young boy begins his career as a young Camorra gopher and lookout; an older gentleman delivers money to the widows and families of jailed Camorra associates until a shooting war breaks out; a talented tailor risks his life as he begins sharing his secrets with the Chinese tradesmen who comprise his competition; and two young, Scarface-obsessed teen wannabe gangsters decide to make their mark as they run afoul of the local mobsters. Saviano is nowhere to be seen, though his personal observations and obsessions are woven into every story.

While many crime films inevitably glorify their subjects to some degree, Gomorra is hardly a glamorous portrait of the concrete suburbs of Naples, which bear more than a passing resemblance to troubled American housing projects and inner-city ghettos. It is a grim and troubling place that may change one's opinion of European civility for some time. The stark style---real locations, natural life, real locals---underscores a desperate, cannibalistic society where crime is simply a way of doing business, and nobody even enjoys the spoils. Rather than having a Mafia/Cosa Nostra-type structure, the Camorra is a clan-based business society of sorts where everything and everyone has a price, 'rules' are few and far between, and violence is the easy cure for any conflict. Even the sides on the shooting wars are completely murky since nobody can be trusted. All anyone can agree on is that there needs to be some killing. The desperation of the environment dictates there be an endless supply of wannabes who hope to distinguish themselves amid the drab concrete landscape.

There is little to none of the 'honor' and 'loyalty' that American Mafia films try to depict. In fact, this society has tossed those considerations out the window. The 'dons' here do not sit in wood-paneled studies, considering the loyalty and respect of friends while spouting aphorisms. In fact, they are never seen. Rather, the street-level powers dress like gangster rappers, have a taste for gaudy jewelry, and have no qualms about putting a bullet in anyone's head---man, woman, or child. This is not Scorsese, or Coppola, or the Sopranos, with signature flourishes and well-coordinated soundtracks underscoring the nefarious activity. Gomorra is a bleak, gray world where everything, literally, is touched in a figurative or physical way by crime. The countryside is poisoned, the people live in terror, the authorities have minimal success combating the plague, and the aspirations of many of the young generation are limited to becoming the next bagmen, triggermen or body bag inhabitant. One of the most powerful moments does not involve a mob hit or any blood, but rather highlights the rather depressing origins of one of those sparkling gowns star actresses wear to the Oscars.

Highly recommended film. It was snubbed for Oscar consideration, perhaps because we need 'nice' foreign movies to consider. This may blow your conceptions of European life out the door, and of course, it's a living story as the Italian authorities attempt to chip away at the worldwide power of the Camorra and everything they touch. Gomorra is even opens with a warning about tanning beds! The Criteria Collection release is very welcome for a new film. Previous reviewers noted that the advertized Amazon product was not NTSC / US-compatible, though this has been corrected.

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Real Italy ! ! !

This is the real thing; from the garment industry to waste management to making your bones, and getting sworn in the old way

Read the book first

The book, Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano, is one of the best books I've read in recent years. It is a tremendous expose of the organized crime system in Italy and Europe.

The movie leaves out so much of the connecting story that without having read the book in advance I don't think this movie would have made much sense to me. I do not speak Italian so I had to rely on the subtitles to follow the dialog and plot. Perhaps that is why I believe the movie would be incomprehensible to me if I hadn't read the book first.

Having said that, it is a well made film and the action keeps it moving along. But the book goes much further and will provide you muuch more enlightenment about the Comorra crime families.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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