Gomorrah (2008)

Neapolitan sounds really weird to me. It is not standard Italian, and nothing like the northern dialect I was used to hearing. And the tones of their speech doesn't sound quite as melodic. The film follows five different characters in the Camorra, which apparently has a more clan-like structure than other mafia groups. There is an ongoing feud between clans that manifests itself violently. Pasquale has the most interesting story line, in my opinion--a haute couture tailor who secretly teaches the Chinese factory workers on the side. He is skeptical at first of the Chinese. He returns from his first lesson tired and excited about his good students, their hospitality and their delicious food. It's a moment of cultural understanding that is quite uplifting. The film does acknowledge that there are many minority ethnic groups that live in Italy and compete with the mafia in legitimate and illegitimate businesses. I think that's really part of one of the big takeaways from the film. The mafia is so entangled in society that their illegitimate business is so insidious. Franco proclaims that it is because of his illegal dumping that Italy is in the EU, which ironically and sadly probably has some partial truth to it. The mafia is an integral part of Italian society. And we get to see that here. Where the film slowed down for me was that I didn't find Toto or Marco and Ciro's stories all that interesting.

The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) (2013)

Paolo Sorrentino's Oscar-winner is beautiful as always. He knows how to take breathtaking shots. The typical criticism of his films is that though they are gorgeous, they are empty, void of meaning. This film does not have that problem. There is definitely something there, though that something is, ironically enough, emptiness. It is not always immediately clear to me though. This film supposedly captured the contemporary zeitgeist of Berlusconi's glamorous Rome. In that sense it is almost pseudo-anthropological in that it captures the essence a people in a specific period, but it is made up. That being said, I appreciate that it is a beautiful, well-made film. Did I enjoy watching it though? It was 2.5 hours! To be honest, it was an overload to the senses, if you ask me.