Na Própria Pele: o Caso Stefano Cucchi

Superb directing & brilliant acting. This film is based on true events highlighting police brutality amongst a few bad apples and the consequences of.

I don't write reviews, even after having seen unforgettable masterpieces. But this time, I have to.

And the reason is Alessandro Borghi. I was first mesmerised by his work in "Suburra: La Serie" and wanted more, so decided to give this a chance, and his performance here is nothing short of transcendent. I don't say this lightly, but it's up there with the work of Daniel Day Lewis in "There Will Be Blood" in quality and realism.

The film portrays the real life events surrounding the arrest of Stefano Cucchi, a low life addict. While in jail, he suffers a beating at the hands of the arresting officers, and that's where the film takes a turn from any standardised narrative you'd expect - the closest thing I can recall was "Fruitvale Station", but I'd claim that this is more powerful and even better acted. The humanity and authenticity captured by the director and cast is closer to the neo-Iranian cinema, than any Hollywood produced movie.

In my humble opinion, Borghi may be the greatest working actor in the world right now, and his tour de force in this picture is a monumental achievement, up there with the best performances in the last few decades.

Highly recommended.

Normally I would say this is more of my thing, especially being on Netflix and having that documentary type of feel by being based on a true story, etc. I felt very sorry for Stefano and wanted to learn more about him and what happened after watching this film - we hear about police brutality and things of that nature all of the time, but of course I had never heard of Stefano Cucchi before. I don't really like any of the gory stuff, whether it's gory movies, gory clips, gory pictures, etc. It just never sits right with me. This film was no exception, but it was a different type of film than all the other Italian produced films that I've been watching, and it just goes to show that all people, no matter who, face the same challenges in life and everyone we go there will always be corrupt systems, corrupt people, and victims.

Set in suburban Rome, this is the true story of Stefano Cucchi, who was arrested for possession of drugs, then fell victim to police brutality. Sounds familiar, even boring, I've-seen-it-all-before fare? Far from it, this is no white Rodney King story, there is no morale here, no heroes or anti-heroes, just a dysfunctional police & penal system and its victims. And the movie? Simply, this is one of the best films produced by the ailing Italian cinema of the 2000s. A grueling, insanely gritty, claustrophobic, intense thriller, boosted by an array of painfully brilliant performances and the documentaristic, crammed with close-ups, direction - reminiscent of Kassowitz's work in La Haine. This is an absolute tour de force. If you're even remotely interested in great storytelling, do not miss it.

Don't expect something flashy and fancy here. A movie with no heroes, just an amazing movie based on real events with magnificent performances and an exceptional soundtrack. Sit there, enjoy the movie. Don't expect a happy ending with justice, vengeance and payback. Feel the pain. Be emphatetic with the main character and try to help him, even if you can't. Not to many movies have the touch to tell a story this way without the gigantic budget, the overrated performers and the exagerated promo.That's life; a chain of huge errors.