Review of Salvo (2013) by Matt M — 25 Oct 2013

Set in hot Palermo, this is the story of a cold blooded killer who gets himself into trouble with his own people when he can't kill off the blind sister of a man who tried to murder him. Conveying the element of the girl's blindness, the film is quite a sensorial experience that drifts away from the usual cinematic language by putting less emphasis on dialogue and more on creating a compelling atmosphere moved forward by the titular character's conflict of emotions.

Without disregarding its moments of tension and intense show down, what seems to start as a violent gangster film becomes a hopelessly tragic love story that is at once harrowing and charming. Saleh Bakri is an excellent choice as Salvo, and delivers a penetrating performance as the man of few words, one in fact which often recalls Clint Eastwood in the renowned Sergio Leone dollars trilogy.