Anime nere

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.

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.

This is another gangster film where there isn't all the action of the traditional entry in the genre. If Goodfellas is Saving Private Ryan, then Black Souls is more in the vein of The Thin Red Line, not the same caliber as that film but you get my drift.

This is much more of a character study of the players involved. The eldest of a trio of brothers has spent decades tending to his farm and staying out of the family business, which is for the most part unnamed shady stuff. But when his son goes to visit his goon of a brother with intentions of joining the dark side, a sequence of events fall in place resulting in a finish that I don't think anyone can see coming.

Not a lot happens in the first 2/3s of Black Souls in an action sense, and if I was in the wrong mood I might not have liked this as much as I did. But I thought the conflict between the four chief characters (the dad, his two gangster brothers, and his son) was established very convincingly. Come with patience to this one and you will be well rewarded. One of the scenes near the finish is simply magnificent.

Every few years an authentic Italian mafia film comes along, the last one being 2008's Gomorrah. Now we have Anime Nere; A slick, well made, taut and perfectly paced film about an unsung rise to power. It takes place deep within the crime underworld in a village outside of Milan. Grounded in realism and contains no superfluous love stories or unneeded fluff. Classic Mafia film moments and themes are handled deftly and with fresh eyes. The enormity of the film emerges only its its last few frames. People that idolize Scarface or The Godfather will have a new classic on their hands. Thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking cinema.

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.