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Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Since 1996 |
Your Gateway to Music and More from a Christian Perspective Slow down as you approach the gate, and have your change ready.... |
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Mafioso
Stars: Alberto Sordi, Norma Bengeli, Ugo Attanasio, Katiusca Piretti, Gabriella Conti, Francesco Lo Briglio, Carmela Oliviero, Cinzia Bruno, Armando Tine, Hugh Hurd, Lilly Bistrattin and Michele Bailly Director: Alberto Lattuada Scriptwriters: Rafael Azcona, Marco Ferreri, Agenore Incrocci and Furio Scarpelli Rialto Films Rated: Not rated but could be PG 13 Running Length: 100 minutes Note: this Italian film was made in 1962 and is being re-released in 2007. Black and white with subtitles. Mafioso gives you a view of life within the Mafia, sort of a precursor to the family of Don Corleone in The Godfather. In Mafioso, the charismatic Alberto Sordi (Nino) stars as someone who worked for the Mafia while in his teens, then married and moved from Sicily to Milan in “the North country.” He works in a factory, has a beautiful blonde wife (Norma Bengeli as Marta) and two blonde daughters. Life is good. Alberto decides to visit his family in Sicily for two weeks. The fun begins when the “northern” wife meets her “southern” in-laws. It’s like day and night. The family situation provides abundant humor. Nino’s sister has a problem with excessive hair and the family thinks she will remain a spinster. However, Marta saves the day with modern beauty salon magic and this endears the family to Marta. Nino has sent the family money to buy living room furniture. They don’t have a living room, so put the furniture on the flat roof. Fine, until it rains. You get the picture. It’s at this point that something sinister creeps into the film. Alberto pays a visit to the local Don to renew his allegiance. Alberto has a special talent that the Don now needs. An excuse is made to take Alberto away from his family for two days and then we see what Alberto’s talent is, so he can never separate from the Don. The two days go by rapidly for Alberto, and the audience wonders if it missed something in the blink of an eye. No, you didn’t, for allegiances here go forever from generation to generation and honor is deadly serious. Having the film in black and white works well. The contrast between black and white---as being within the law or outside the law---becomes dramatic. There is a nighttime scene where a man is waiting for a ride. The camera looks down a long, dark road and the audience starts looking at the stars, when suddenly a truck appears out of the shadows to the right and a man comes out of the shadows on the left. There was activity and we didn’t know it. Alberto Sordi’s performance as the somewhat bumbling husband brings humor to the family situation. Just when you think the story is winding down as his family adjusts to the long visit with in-laws, the next part begins, utilizing Alberto’s skill. He knows what has to be done, the “why” of it and the consequences. His village is depicted well and anyone who has traveled off the beaten track recognizes characters such as the quarreling neighbors or childhood friends who never grew up but live in perpetual adolescence. This is going home again with a twist. Once in the Mafia, always in the Mafia. Copyright 2007 Marie Asner
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