Gomorrah (2008) [Blu-ray]
Crime | Drama

The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray]

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 expose 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 ngaged true-crime story from a major new voice in Italian cinema.

Storyline: "Gomorra" is a contemporary Neapolitan mob drama that exposes Italy's criminal underbelly by telling five stories of individuals who think they can make their own compact with Camorra, the area's Mafia. Written by anonymous

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov on November 3, 2009 -- Based on Roberto Saviano's controversial book, Matteo Garrone's "Gomorrah" (2008) arrives on Blu ray courtesy of Criterion. Amongst the supplemental features on the disc are the documentary "Gomorrah: Five short stories", an exclusive interview with director Matteo Garrone, an exclusive interview with actor-director Tony Servillo, a lengthy interview with writer Roberto Saviano, deleted scenes and more. Region-A "locked". In 2008, "Gomorrah" won seven David di Donatello awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Editing (Marco Spoletini), and Best Producer (Domenico Procacci). During the same year, the film also won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

The intertwining tales of a delivery boy, a tailor, a businessman and two cocky teenagers form the fabric of this gritty and lyrical examination of the influential Neapolitan mob known as the Camorra.

There is nothing glitzy about Gomorrah. If you've only heard that it is a film about the Neapolitan mafia, the Camorra, and are expecting that it might be a wild and entertaining ride where the mafiosi talk, walk, and shoot as seen in the films of Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma, then you are in for a disappointment of paramount proportions. In Matteo Garrone's film people lose their lives so quickly, and in such a brutal fashion, that the overwhelming majority of it feels simply like an uncensored documentary feature suitable only for foreign TV stations.

Set in the slums of Scampia, Gomorrah recreates the five highly controversial stories Roberto Saviani's book chronicles. The first story follows the deeds of Ciro (Ciro Petrone) and Marco (Marco Macor), two teenagers fantasizing about making it big on their own. The second story is about an old "carrier", Don Ciro (Gianfelice Imparato, Il Divo), who pays the weekly salaries of those who have remained faithful to the Camorra. The third story introduces a business-savvy gangster (Toni Servillo, The Consequences of Love), who generates revenue for the Camorra through a waste products business. The fourth story is about a 13-year-old boy, Toto (Salvatore Abruzzese), who desperately tries to earn the respect of the local crime bosses. The fifth and final story follows the downfall of a gifted designer (Salvatore Cantalupo, Appassionate) facing a difficult dilemma.

The manner in which the five stories of Gomorrah are linked may prove a bit too confusing for some viewers. They overlap each other without following a specific pattern, and at times it is difficult to tell exactly what takes place on the screen. Even when certain pieces of the puzzle begin falling in place, a lot remains unclear and difficult to comprehend.

The murkiness in this film, however, is intentional. Gomorrah was filmed in the manner described above precisely so that it could relate to the viewer how incredibly difficult it is for outsiders to understand the structural hierarchy of the Neapolitan mafia. Unsurprisingly, there are rules and codes the mafiosi follow in the film that remain an enigma even after the end credits roll.

What Gomorrah makes perfectly clear, however, is that the Neapolitan mafia has completely changed an entire region, and perhaps country. In Scampia, the biggest drug-pushing locality in the world, with daily sales of approximately 500,000 Euro per clan, no one could survive without the blessing of the underworld bosses. You think this is an exaggeration? Consider this – Roberto Saviano, the author of Gomorrah, was intentionally removed from the script for the film (in the book, he is actually a character of importance), and to this day remains under 24-hour police protection program.

Finally, Gomorrah would have never achieved the level of authenticity it reveals without Matteo Garrone's eye for detail. The locations in the film, as seen in the extras provided on the Blu-ray release, are absolutely breathtaking. The Italian director shot Gomorrah inside the slums of Scampia where the mafia controls practically every corner, and the images his camera captured are indeed impossible to forget. Simply put, this is the most realistic non-documentary crime feature an Italian director has ever filmed!

Matteo Garrone's Gomorrah is one of the very best films to be released on Blu-ray in 2009. It is also the best Italian film I have seen in the last ten years (clearly better than Ferzan Ozpetek's La finestra di fronte, Marco Tullio Giordana's La meglio gioventů, and Nanni Moretti's acclaimed Il Caimano). Criterion's Blu-ray treatment is, as expected, fantastic. See this film! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[CSW] -3.1- The following is from another reviewer who summed it up better than I could:
--- SPOILER ALERT--- Gomorra is a Naples mob, and this movie spends two and half hours detailing how this violent, controlling mob impacts the people who live under its control. The movie starts with a ritual rival mobsters execution - so you wonder where this movie is headed. However it then eases into a slower paced, character driven, documentary style, intertwined story collection, as it explores various Neapolitan citizens' lives. The setting is mainly a totally dilapidated, slum-like housing development. You have to be patient for about an hour until you identify with the characters and get into their lives. In one story, there's a cute as a button youngster, Toto (Salvatore Abruzzese) who, perhaps wisely for survival, ingratiates himself with the mob, not knowing that he will have some hard choices to make later - a coming of age story. Then there's the educated young man Roberto (Carmine Paternoster), apprenticing for the mob in the "Waste Management" business (techniques not EPA approved!), until he comes to his senses - a disillusionment story. Don (Gianfelice Imparato) is the mob money carrier, thinking he's untouchable, protected by the mob, until he's robbed and his life is on the line - a lucky person story. Pasquale (Salvatore Cantalupo), is a talented fashion designer running a mob sweatshop, except he's clandestinely helping a competitor, a wake-up call from the Gomorra convinces him to change his ways. And then there are the two rebellious late aged teens (the ones on the movie cover art, not sure of actor names), who the Gomorra can't decide to recruit for their irritating bravado or just eliminate as a nuisance. Other minor stories are mingled in with the above. There's a huge cast of very good novice actors, obviously directed well. The cinematography deserves mention as awesome, everything between the facial close-ups and the disaster zone settings. This is a great rental, if you have the patience to get into it.
[V4.5-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.


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