Mafioso

Mafioso

It is months that I have had almost no time to go to the movies, but the fact that this movie of Alberto Lattuada with Alberto Sordi (who is an actor well-known in Italy) has been re-released in theaters made me curious - so now you get my comments.

The idea below the movie is original, the sort of originality which could become oddity or weirdness if it is not kept in check, but the screenplay writers knew how to manage it well. I don't feel like putting in spoilers, so for giving an idea of the plot I shall say that Sordi, sicilian, works as a middle-level manager in a factory in the North, and has a family there, with a wife from Milan, I believe; the first time that our hero brings his family to Sicily for a vacation the contact with the mafia will reserve some surprises.

The movie is not consistently good, in my opinion it does not move itself well between social comedy (which some time becomes asomewhat caricatural) and drama. I should say that putting comedy and drama next to each other is a quite difficult task and the authors of this movie succeed only partially, and I think a big contribution to the success is given by Sordi's acting.

I don't feel like spoliering but I do feel like talking about cinema and here you are what I liked. First of all the magic of cinema that I have been able to enjoy once more (I feel like being sentimental as well); for example in my opinion the iamges of the happy family that arrives in the village on a small car are spectacular and really "cinematographic". If we want to talk about transposing a story into images here there is a lot of it (yes, I feel like writing down vague concepts as well, and I don't bother to clarify them even to myself).
The opening shots, moreover, of the factory in Milan, with camera movements that wind around objects and carry the spectators inside the fast-paced work activities are masterful.
As a third scene I would cite the conversation between young sicilians on the beach; I found it excellent both because it reproduces quite faithfully the kind of arguments that one can find in such discussions (society and work in Sicily), and because it re-creates the feeling of slight dimming and confusion of the intellect and reflexes that catches me and I believe other people as well when a social space can be filled up only with dialectics and there are many people that want to occupy it with the same ideas.

I come briefly back on the pairing of comedy and drama and I say how it works in my opinion; it works when feelings of being care-free (that are represented through comedy, I really think I ought to clarify) and threatening shadows (drama, since comedy was the other thing) live together in the same person. This for the reason that to me and I think also to others has happened to realize having been making mistakes in following comfortable thoughts but at the same time feeling the attraction of the old thoughts just because theyare comfortable and then because following those thoughts it is possible to live well as long as it is possible not to look around and beyond. And what happens to Sordi in this movie is not exactly this but captures similar feelings.