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A Sicilian country wedding is the setting of story as it begins. Peppino Impastato, a young boy comes to the celebration with his parents and younger brother. At the banquet that follows one can see an assortment of characters that will be pivotal to the story later on. Being Sicily one can dismiss the idea that organized crime hoods are at the bridal table and somehow Peppino's own father knows much more than he owns up to, in this tale about the of an awakening. The viewer never suspects the change from the bucolic setting of the early scenes to the reality of how the mafia works in that part of Italy.
Something changes Peppino's perception of life when he goes to visit a local artist that has holds high communist ideals as a priority. Peppino fights with his father and abandons the family home. His life changes completely until he finds his own voice when he and his friends start a local radio in Cinisi, a small town in the island. Little prepares us for the way Peppino's voice will do to the mafia bigwigs that have a tight control on everything in Cinisi.
Marco Tullio Giordana, the director of "La meglio giuventu", his epic masterpiece about Italian life seen through different generations, conceived and co-wrote this film about a passionate youth that dedicates his life to fight the organized crime in his home town. Supposedly, it is based on a real person, but not being a hundred percent certain, we have to go on the assumption that it reflects what really happened in that small town years ago.
The only reason for watching this Italian film is Luigi Lo Cascio's take on Peppino. As he proved later with his participation in the director's next movie, this young actor shows he is one of the best of his generation and has a great future in the Italian cinema. Also in the cast, Luigi Maria Burruano, who makes a good job as Peppino's father.
Although the theme is about Peppino's turn into leftist politics in his own land, the film is enjoyable because it is never in one's face. Mr. Giordana makes the viewer get his own conclusion by stating the facts as he saw them.
score 7/10
jotix100 28 June 2009
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2087828/ |
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24-2-2021 00:06:12