ST. ALi Italian Film Festival
Palace Cinemas
(Reviewed by John Glennie)
This was a really good movie – though when the ending came my only thought was “what … is that it?!?”.
It starts off with a group of friends sharing stories by a bonfire after duck shooting. As it turns out, they are prison guards, celebrating the pending closure of their prison. However, when they return to barracks, their Director informs them that one of the other prisons does not have the capacity to take 12 of the inmates, so a skeleton crew of guards – headed by Gaetano (Toni Servillo) – will be required to keep this old prison going. The entire facility is locked down and the remaining prisoners moved to one small centre so they can all be housed together, though they have no privileges or visitation rights.
Food for the guards and prisoners is also delivered, though the prisoners go on a hunger strike over the quality of what is provided. One of the prisoners, considered the most dangerous, is Carmine Lagioia (Silvio Orlando) approached Gaetano asking the kitchen to be opened up and Lagioia will cook for the guards and prisoners – his father used to own a diner. Against the advice of his fellow guards, Gaetano agrees. Gaetano assigns a young prisoner, Fantaccini (Pietro Giuliano) to help in the kitchen. All the other inmates consider Fantaccini a “brown-noser” and useless. We soon learn that the latter has been in many foster homes and is in prison for mugging. Lagioia’s attitude soon changes to the youngster and we see a much softer side of him.
As the normally strict prison rules are gradually eased ever so slightly, we almost see impossible friendships, or bonds, occurring. Lagioia almost turns into a likeable character – always trying to break down the walls of Gaetano’s hard exterior barriers (and his cooking looks amazing, by the way!). When an attorney turns up unexpectedly, there is a sense of dread when it comes to light that Fantaccini’s mugging victim is in a coma – the potential outcome being quite upsetting for all.
I won’t give any more away, but I found the production to be quite absorbing and was totally immersed in the transformation of the various characters. It is definitely worth a visit to Palace Cinemas to see this one. But the ending … 🙄!!!
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