Review of Gomorrah (2008) by Brian E — 18 Aug 2009

When making a mob film, we have to inevitably consider our forefather films: The Godfather, Scarface, Once Upon A Time in America, 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag, etc. I think the torch has officially been passed to Matteo Garrone's "Gomorra" - which tells of the Camorra mob activity in Naples, Italy in separate stories involving a young boy's initiation, two youngsters obsessed with the lifestyle of crime who find that it's tougher to do than to dream of doing, a fashion designer turning his passion into an illegal money-maker, and man and his boss providing waste-dump sites for crime activity, and finally a financial middle-man for gang activity who wants out.

The stories either end in blood, or end in moral responsibility - but many lives are stepped on along the way, as in every mob film. This series of portraits articulately weaves in and out of stories in ways similar to Soderbergh's stunning hyperlink film "Traffic", but without getting too close to any of the characters emotionally.

It does, however, share the same mafioso saga-sensationalism and classicism as The Godfather trilogy did - tastefully and realistically decorated violence with some incriminatingly deep insider mob information - mind you, this info was exposed by the writer of the original novel by which the film is based on.

.. and the author is still currently under legal protection from the Camorra for going public with their activity. The Criterion Collection is releasing this gem in November - go pick it up.