Salvo

The influence is obviousfor this film, very well made but also suffering from some unnecessary lengths. The main actor is maybe not Alain Delon but quite good enough to hold the comparison. Lonely hired killer who happens to face existential questions, a topic already seen many times before, even in Asian crime films, but rarely in European ones. Italy is a country, great provider of mafia topics, - I wonder why ; ha ha ha - so it is normal that Italy made this one, unlike Spain, Germany or Norway. In the USA, of course there were tons of them all over the years, especially TV products, or direct to DVDs stuff. No, this one is a good film, not that surprising though, with expected results at the end, but a good Italian crime feature.

Whenever I read the words "arthouse action", I immediately think of Drive, I can't help it. It's an instinct. So yeah, sort of expect that same sort of atmosphere, and while the mood and pacing here is like that in a way, it's just not all that interesting. Inherently it is, the cinematography is quite good, as is the editing. The lead actor seems a bit empty, and not in the way that it worked in Drive. There could've perhaps been more there, seeing as how that's the way I really saw it not working. Still, there were some moments of inspired brilliance, the film wasn't always uninteresting, and it was nicely composed. by the end of it, I actually kind of liked it for some reason, and it's why I'm giving it more positive than negative despite my review not sounding like that at all

Saw this at Palm Springs Film Festival, Jan '14. Had high expectations that this would meet the film description. It opened with some action, but then got very plodding as the main character first met the female lead. I suppose this was artsy or character development stuff, but for me, it was just slow.

The movie did not lead me to care emotionally about either main character.

At our screening the film ended and the audience *moaned*. Never heard such a reaction at a film festival, where the movies are supposed to be the best of the best.

Avoid this one.

SALVO as written and directed by Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza has won many awards. It is a lengthy (2 long hours) story (or view) of the life of a hit man and the reason it succeeds is the magnetic performance of Saleh Bakri ('The Band's Visit') who magnetizes the story with his penetrating gaze.

Salvo (Saleh Bakri) is a bodyguard and hit man for a Mafioso. After foiling an attack on his employer, Salvo hunts down the man who organized it – Renato - and encounters the man's blind sister, Rita (Sara Serraiocco). She causes Salvo to question himself and his existence. The camera focuses on close ups of Rita's face as she tries to disguise her fear by singing. Salvo performs the murder of Renato off screen while we see Rita's reaction. Salvo places his fingers over Rita's eyes and due to some sort of unexplained phenomena, cures her sight. She starts to see forms and shapes, but as the film goes on, her sight improves. Salvo buries Renato and keeps Rita in an empty factory for her security and the remainder of the film shows the transition of a solitary professional hit-man to a man who becomes vulnerable to human connection, offering an allegory with the inexplicable restoration of Rita's sight.

The film is in Italian, is long, dark and very atmospheric. Dialogue is scarce but well chosen. This is a mood piece with a message and well worth waiting it out to understand that message. Grady Harp, December 14

Salvo synopsis may seem like a tear jerker melodrama, but it isn't. This is the European art film at its best. Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai may come to your minds, but even that is like blockbuster in comparison with Salvo. Long shots, minimum of words, no music - that is Salvo. Salvo Mancuso. He is defined by his acts, not his words. The plot is revealed slowly and if you are right kind of spectator, you will enjoy calm atmosphere of this movie. There are some great sequences I won't spoil. This is definitely that kind of film where directors precisely thanked about each shot. This is sad film about lonely people who "live their lives like a rats" (a sentence one of the character says in the movie). If you want to be enjoyed, look somewhere else. if you like film noir, slow films and films where you see the creators know their work with images and sound, this might be for you.