Galantuomini

Director Edoardo Winspeare‘s 2008 Galantuomini is a surprise in a few ways: a) that such a great mafia movie hadn’t caught the attention of more Americans, and b) that Donatella Finocchiaro hadn’t won more awards for her performance and c) that I’d never watched it.

It’s Puglia in the ’70s and two childhood friends (Finocchiaro and Fabrizio Gifuni) are reunited when a third dies of a heroin overdose. Lucia’s stayed in her hometown and while pretending to be a perfume salesman runs the organized crime around there. The boss has put her in charge while he’s in hiding. and taking orders from a woman is not sitting well with everyone.

Gifuni plays Ignazio, a successful mob prosecutor (Of course he is. I didn’t say this movie was without clichés) who comes home to investigate his friend’s death and find out where the heroin came from, and though he knows, immediately, that she’s very, very bad for him, falls hard for Lucia.

Galantuomini has everything a mafia movie lover could want including sex, drugs, and bloody shoot outs. Finocchiaro is so absolutely credible as a thug that I think I’d be a little afraid of her if I saw her walking down the street and Gifuni plays a great prosecutor on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

With English subtitles – Americans should give this one a second look.