Operación San Genaro

Perhaps an unknown fact from occidental people is about the whole Italy territory is split in two completely different kind of people, the north rich and advanced and south Italy, where the real people be proud to doesn't make part of the great Italy, Naples should be the south's capital, just an introduction, when arrives at Naples an American gang leaded by Jack (Harry Guardino) and his gorgeous girlfriend Maggie (Senta Berger) willing to do a dared robbery at San Genaro's treasure, they asking for a famous Mob's leader Don Vicenzo (The Funny Totó) sadly he was in jail almost retired, then he suggest your inheritor Dudu (Nino Manfred) as Naple's criminal underworld, when they introduces each other, the American gang didn't tell the target of the robbery, however later they have to talk about of San Genaro's treasure, Dudu a hard passionate of this Saint denies such heresy, should be with his own permission only, then he goes to the church to asking for Saint Genaro itself his concordance, already promising to him all gathered money will be for Naples's poor people, this an ingenious comic picture exploring the Italian faith, almost a hundred colorful characters scattered along the movie, in every single scene, specially Totó and Mario Adorf, the final sequence goes beyond of the human insanity!!

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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

In the greatest city of the world someone wants to steal the San Gennaro's treasure. Dudu (Nino Manfredi) boss of "La Sanità" (a popular quarter of Naples) is taking time to make the right choice: can they succeed? is it really a great occasion? will San Gennaro be happy? The comedy let us understand lot of things about the city of Naples and its habits: superstitious practices, amazing people (like "the baron": the only man who has the heart on the right) and their passion for music (the Festival of Neapolitan song, and the great singer Sergio Bruni, he always wants to be the last to sing)... And TOTO', playing the role of DON VINCENZO IL FENOMENO: a genius.

No offense. I did not find it entertaining. I recognized no parentage to the modern comedy nor the modern heist movie. Mediocre acting, no comedic timing, light on facial expressions, badly dubbed, and no subtitles.

If you watched the movie without audio, you wouldn't be able to tell what genre it is. However, one may be able to appreciate it for it's intrinsic value if you take into consideration the limitations of the industry then, movie tropes and conventions of the time, historical context and have familiarity with Neapolitan culture from other sources. Because instead of being a lighthearted and faithful representation of Neapolitan culture it represents the state of Italian filmmaking of the time.

In short, a relic. destined to remain in it's time capsule. Inaccessible without Italian fluency, barely comprehensible if you don-t have familiarity with Neapolitan language as some of the humour relies on it. This movie is to be taken out as an object of study

The sixties was the decade for heist movies, more or less inspired for most of them by RIFIFI: TOPKAPI, GRAND SLAM (though not really a comedy) GAMBIT, CAPER OF THE GOLDEN BULLS, BIGGET BUNDLE OF THEM ALL, ITALIAN JOB; so this one is in the pure continuity. Dino Risi, one of the greatest Italian directors in terms of satyrical comedies, seems to be very comfortable in this comedy crime caper film, which saves us some surprises in the script, such as the death of one of the lead characters eighteen minutes before the end. Very surprising for a comedy, isn'it? . The Italian trademark is so obvious in this story about a "holy" treasure, the christianity oriented spirit, I repeat, so typical of the Italian culture. Mario Monicelli's famous THE PIGEON spirit is not so far...Italian trademark.

This appears like a superficial farce full of slapstick and comedy situations of increasingly ridiculous complications, but it is much more than that. Also, not only is it an extensive and warm exposure of the Napolitan style of life and its very original mentality with great variations, but above all a very human approach to this kind of life. Of course, it's a triumphant comedy but with dark undertones. The one who spoils the entertainment is Harry Guardian as Jack, who doesn't fit in at all, can't understand the Napolitan mentality and style of life and seems to deliberately make a bad actor, but the story turns logic, and he gets his just reward. Senta Berger is something similar, but she is closer and more familiar with the Italian style, she fits in even as the rather cheap slut she is under all her elegance, but also she gets her just reward. They all do, and that's the wonder and point of this sparkling film, which gets better all the time as the plot thickens in constantly wrong directions. In brief, it's classical hilarious entertainment with some very wise indications by the finger of both fortune and fate. You get disgusted by the torpid enterprise, but you learn something on the way and end up the wiser from this awesome experience of not only laughters on the way.

Of course, if you are Italian or understand Italian and even the Napolitan dialect, the film will be doubly entertaining, because if you don't you will not understand everything, since much is untranslatable.