“One day I stopped and looked around. And that’s when I asked myself the question: how can the Mafia enter the lives of people so arrogantly in Palermo and so few say something about it?” (Pif)
This one’s a definite “must see”. It won the European Film Award for best comedy and is coming soon thanks to Distrib Films US.
Pierfrancesco “Pif” Diliberto, Italian TVs answer to Jon Stewart has made his first movie, a clever child’s eye view of what it was like for normal people living under the mafia’s thumb in 1980s and 90s Palermo. Diliberto directed, starred in, and cowrote this uniquely entertaining take on a very serious theme, the mafia’s killing spree that resulted in the deaths of judges, politicians, and police officers and reached fever pitch with the famous “Maxi-Trial”.
The film’s protagonist, young Arturo, hears the adults talking and knows that something’s going on, but he’s decided that Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti’s got it covered and there’s nothing to worry about. After all, none of the adults seem particularly concerned and “it’s winter, and the Mafia only kills people in the summer”. If this is just the story that adults tell their children to ease their fears, they seem to (at least want to) believe it too, along with other fantasies about the Mafia and Prime Minister Andreotti. It’s easier and safer to believe that danger is Naples’ problem, not theirs.
06-Mar – Alamo Draftouse Winchester, VA
Starts 6-Mar – Quad Cinema New York, NY
Starts 27-Mar – Tower Cinema Miami, Fl
Starts 27-Mar – Laemmle Royal LA, CA
Starts 3-Apr – Living Room Cinemas Boca Raton, FL
Starts10-Apr – Living Room Cinemas Portland
19-Mar 25-Mar French Film festival – Alliance Francaise Puerto Rico
29-Mar – Italian Film Festival Charlotte, VA
24-Apr 30-Apr Chez Artiste (Landmark) Denver, CO
Starts 24-Apr – The Screen Santa Fe, CA
26-Apr – Italian Film Festival Detroit
Starts 1-May – Landmark’s Midtown Art Cinema 8 Atlanta, GA
01-May 08-May Opera Plaza San Francisco, CA
01-May 08-May The Shattuck Berkeley, CA
01-May 08-May Landmark’s Ken theater San Diego, CA
01-May 08-May Landmark’s Ritz 5 theater Philadelphia, PA
Starts 8-May – Landmark Theater Minneapolis Minneapolis, MN
4-June – Wexner Center for the Arts Columbus, OH
Since the Cleveland, OH, screening is not listed, I imagine that there will be other cities with one time screenings, so watch your local news.
I Love Italian Everything 