Gomorrah

At last. A much-needed corrective to the cinema's glamourization of the mafia and gangsters in general. While 2 young thugs might quote from Scarface and have delusions of following Tony Montana's rise, Gomorrah instead shows the grimy, ruthless and violent reality of the Camorra. The opening sequence is a terrific piece of wrong-footing. Black turns to an eerie blue as various men step into tanning machines. It could almost be a sci-fi film. Until they are brutally shot. This is the first indication of the war brewing within the Camorra, which impinge s on a variety of characters. The deeply depressing housing blocks undergo a form of ethnic cleansing, with families forced out if they choose the "wrong" side. Not that the film focuses solely on the drug-riven underclass. Other strands follow the insidious penetration of legitimate enterprises, such as high fashion, by the Camorra, and their involvement in the shockingly cavalier disposal of toxic waste. Money rules, the fate of ordinary people is disregarded. As one would expect, the film is violent but what really registers are the quieter moments: young Toto's shocked bewilderment in the aftermath of a shooting; blood-spattered Don Ciro's terror after setting up his boss; the bulldozer disposing of the bodies of 2 hoodlums who've pissed off the local bosses once too often. If this sounds grim, it is. For most of the characters there's no escape from this world. Toto gains comradeship (under threat) but has to assist with the murder of a woman who's his friend. Pasquale the tailor escapes with his life after becoming involved with rival Chinese manufacturers but has to abandon the job he loves, becoming a truck driver. The wannabe Tony Montanas discover that life doesn't resemble art, while Don Ciro's desperate attempts to stay alive involve betrayal of his clan. Only Roberto manages to extricate himself, his horror at the young children drafted in to drive the toxic waste trucks after the truckers refuse providing the catalyst for a difficult decision. What future awaits him in Camorra-dominated Naples is uncertain. There's nothing romantic about these gangsters.