My favorite film of the semester was “Gomorrah”. While most of the films that we studied during the semester examine a romanticized version of the mafia pre-1950’s, while “Gomorrah” examined a more realistic and modern version of the mafia, while also providing the Italian POV regarding the mafia issue rather than the American one. I also liked than instead of focusing in the life of some larger than life mafia don, “Gomorrah” examined the opposite side of the spectrum by focusing on the lives of the people on the “ground”, and examined the price of the mafia lifestyle. Its non-linear narrative that follows 5 different stories with seemingly nothing in common, conveyed a deeply intricate storytelling that portrayed the extent of the corruption of the mafia, the prices normal people pay and the broken dreams that come with it. The filming style used by the director in order to make the film look like a documentary, gave the film a sense of realism that made it more relatable.
The film I feel was the most creative in examining the mafia was “To die for Tano”. While most mafia films follow the action or “documentary” genre to examine the mafia, “To die for Tano” is an outlandish musical with more in common with “the rocky horror show” than the “Godfather”. While unconventional when it comes to the mafia genre, it was an innovative way to bring so much needed satire to the genre, as the musical genre allowed for the film, to mock every pre-conceived notion of the mafia and what it stands for. The non-linear story-telling, the outlandish character and the ridiculousness of the plot as a whole made for a fairly entertaining, if albeit facetious film.
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