A Ciambra

Almost a sequel to American director Jonas Carpignanos' multi-prize winning "Mediterraneo", "A Ciambra" succeeds at something every European director has failed to do so far: To give a realistic, non-judgmental portrait of Romani life, in following 14-year-old Pio Amato's rapid coming-of-age process. Pio already appeared in "Mediterraneo", as did his refugee friend (Koudous Seihon), who was the principal character.

As you can tell from another review here, the attitude towards Sinti and Roma is to this day extremely racist and completely ignorant of the fact that they have been living in Italy for 600 years (Pio's surname is Sinti, i.e. his family has not migrated from the East). In Italian film, gypsies are always thieves and / or murderous psychopaths, "Suburra" and "Jeeg Robot" being the most notorious recent examples. By just reenacting Romani life, "A Ciambra" succeeds in showing how this racist exclusion of Roma (and refugees) creates exactly what it justifies itself with: a marginalized sub-society which perceives the law as hostile, and therefore resorts to crime as a means of survival and defiance. And in this dog-eats-dog world, family is both the only reliable safety net, and the biggest hindrance to an honest living - the film does a good job showing that.

If it's not a masterpiece, then because Carpignano adds nothing to this bleak outlook. There's not a shred of hope for Pio's future, and while this is realistic, it also doesn't give the audience much to work with.

This film drags you into the world of Pio, the main character, from the very first shot to the last, making you descend very slowly and blissful back onto your seat, long after the lights have gone on. Unblended cinema magic! You could feel the passion and heart that was put into this throughout; the filming took more than 90 days (wich is abnormally long) but this care and eagerness to bring Pio's world to life in a pure and enthralling way is reflected upon every scene. An important reason for this was probably the characters who felt delightfully authentic, not infected by hollywoodian handsome faces but (apparently the director also used real people from the area) real human faces of wich you simply couldn't doubt there truth and were going straight into your heart. Another decisive factor in the film's relish was beyond a doubt the dynamic and beautiful camera work, capturing the streets of South-Italy and it's powerful faces in warm colours and shifting it's close focus across the action. At the same time A Ciambra shifts your own focus upon Pio's social reality, offering you an absorbing and enriching window upon this poor region in Italy in the spirit of Italian neorealism.

Don't expect lovely shots of the Calabrian countryside in Jonas Carpignano's A Cambria, because this Italian entry for the Oscars is as gritty as gritty gets. The story of Pio's (Pio Amato) coming of age in an impoverished Romani enclave is told with unremitting neo-realism and a point of view almost exclusively young 14 year-old Pio's. It's a companion piece to the director's Mediterranea and a sequel.

Realism is what made Italian cinema its reputation as far back as Rossellini in the first half of the 20th century. This iteration dares to place the camera almost on Pio's shoulder to give the sense of everything Pio is seeing and if his decisions are good ones. It doesn't get more than this.

That's the rub of this powerful, seemingly documentary capture of small-life in Calabria, modern with cells and cars and anything the gypsies can steal and sell. Because his father and brother are imprisoned, Pio becomes responsible for his family, and he pursues the gangster life with natural instincts, and, well, relish.

Moreover, his 15 family members are actor Pio's real family, providing an unparalleled feel of the real. His mother, Iolanda, is a piece of Italian motherhood work that by now could be "central casting."

The writer/director's treatment is consistent and relentless: an unwavering close up of impoverished gypsy life, at odds with the "Italians" who surround them and at odds with a society that considers them outsiders, thieves, and liers. The streets are uniformly strewn with garbage, and when a building experiences arson, you are almost ready to say "good riddance."

Although so many close-ups of Pio become tiresome, no doubt can exist that you will forget this camera-ready actor whose eyes tell you the combat within his soul.

Are you surprised Martin Scorsese is a producer? I'm not. These are the streets he loves to narrate, and they are mean.

A Ciambra is set in Calabria, a beautiful region of Italy, but that's not what you get to see. Instead you get to see the dark side of Gypsie life, the life we all think about when it comes to Gypsies. At least that's what I've always been told here in Europe, to not trust the Gypsies as they are raised thieving. I don't think there are much people thinking differently about Gypsies here and I don't think it will change after watching this movie. Because thieving and deceiving are the major points of this dark movie. I wonder what the Gypsies think about this movie? Are they proud of them being portrayed like that? In this case they used a real Gypsie family as the actors, almost playing themselves. The Amato's are not the kind of Hollywood actors we all know, without flaws, beautiful and tanned, but they are real and that makes this movie exceptionnal. Pio Amato is the youngest brother of the family, and the story turns around him, watching and learning how to provide for the family. Unfortunately that is by thieving. It looks like stealing is their only way to survive. For not so professional actors I thought they did a brilliant job. A Ciambra is a simple but good movie to watch, a drama that won't change the opinion most people have about Gypsie life I'm afraid.

28th STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL. DAY 3, NOV 10th 2017. "A Ciambra" (2017) premiered in Sweden at the festival on Nov 8th.

‪A soundtrack and score vibrating with the power of life. An authenticity rarely seen and felt. Friendship, dreams and desperation.‬

‪The second feature by Italian-American writer-director Jonas Carpignano, "A Ciambra" (2017) is shot with amateur Romani actors, more or less portraying themselves. In 2014, he made a 16 minutes short with the same title and main character/actor, depicting one night in his life.‬