Les âmes noires

BLACK SOULS is an unusual Italian gangster film that portrays the subject matter in an art-house style. Thus, it's a slow and sedate movie with exemplary realism throughout that goes for a very low key approach. It feels like very little happens in this film, yet at the same time the production has the same kind of realism as a documentary.

It's certainly a well-shot piece with some fine cinematography. The acting is of a solid standard with the actors giving mannered and restrained performances rather than going over the top as in an American gangster movie. The plot, about innocent lives being drawn into the criminal underworld, is a familiar one, but the slow-burning approach works well and builds up some powerhouse moments.

What a moving film! Very deep and different from the usual bloofest you see in gangster films. This seemed alot like a great pilot for a top notch miniseries.

"Dark Souls" or "Anime Nere", as the original title is, is a movie about a feud between two mob families, triggered from an act of recklessness perpetrated by a young man who desires to step into the "glorious", but sleazy and risky world of mafia, and defies his rural origins and the agricultural works his father is doing for a living. It benefits from silence (and total absence of soundtrack and sounds, in general) in certain scenes, a fact that amplifies the intensity which pervades them, or simply steers clear of sounds when silence is required. Marco Leonardi, Peppino Mazzotta and Fabrizio Ferracane deliver solid performances as the three brothers, the two first deeply involved in mafia's trade (mostly drug dealing), and the latter one as the seemingly innocent and uninformed (although he is the eldest brother), whose performance is extremely layered and he, as an actor, is exceptionally expressive and encapsulates every single emotion. Giuseppe Fumo stands out as the bold, careless, vengeful Leo who wants desperately to get engaged into the Mob's ruses, and acts without processing his ideas or following the instructions from his experienced uncles. The scenery is beautiful, the dialogue is equally witty and true to life, the storyline, although it steps in familiar ground, manages to keep the audience's interest during the whole runtime of this motion picture. Soundtrack perfectly matches every shot of this film, and it successfully integrates some Mediterranean customs concerning deceased family members, and grief is portrayed (and expressed) frankly and realistically. There are twists and turns near the end, that make it grim, but also credible. A flaw of this picture, though, is the abruptness of the ending, and the fact that makes no sense, but the final scene's ambiguity gives food for thought to the viewer. Apart from its defects, this is a well-made crime drama that, even though it's not a masterpiece, it honours its Mafia genre and it's recommended to the fans of it, and to the ones who would like to watch a dark European mob film, and have a good time too.

Last Saturday I went to see "Anime nere" at the London Film Festival with great expectation. In fact in August I had read a very positive review on La Repubblica newspaper. I must say it met completely my expectations, the movie is very well done, convincing and the light, the light is absolutely sublime. I like all the actors performances. The director told us, after the projection, that they were a mix of professional and not professional ones (very difficult to distinguish for the high quality of their performances). The plot is very intense, but not in a bad way. The most disturbing scenes are not shown on screen, but left to the audience imagination. The movie is set in a rural village in Calabria, south of Italy, where the three brothers were born and where Luciano, the elder, is still living with his family. The two younger brothers, instead, had moved to Milan in the north of Italy few years back.

Highly recommended, a potential candidate to next year foreign Grammy awards!!

Italy seems to be one step ahead in the production of quality crime films. After the majestic ''Suburra'', this film travels the viewer to the Italian south where we are introduced to three brothers Luciano, Rocco and Luigi who spend their lives inside the omnipotent organized crime complex which is known as ndrangheta (the word is derived for the greek synonym of bravery). Luciano is retired from this lifestyle and is now devoted to his family, a young son (Leo) who seems eager to follow the steps of his criminal uncles. There is nothing flashy or glamorizing about the film's depiction of the mafia lifestyle, ''Anime Nere'' is a rather reserved character-based movie placing the emphasis on the problematic family dynamics and the emotional ordeals of the main characters. This is supported by the stellar performances of all the main actors, in my opinion, Marco Leonardi stands out as the mercurial and tough Luigi, and the direction is exquisite using the beautiful landscape as a marker of the protagonists' feelings. If you are looking for another ''Goodfellas'' rip-off, better stay away from this Italian gem. This is a movie about the genuine lovers of the medium.