“Gomorra” – fact or fiction?

Posted by Lucio Maurizi on October 16, 2008 under Film Festival, Uncategorized | Comments are off for this article

Who doesn’t know the Italian Mafia? We’ve seen it in movies, TV shows, books, videogames, comic books and some of us have even lived the effect of this organization on their own skin.

What everybody knows, though is only a very small portion of what the Italian Mafia was in Italy and, unfortunately, still, partially, is.

There are many organizations more or less powerful, spread all over the country: Cosa Nostra, Camorra, ‘Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, Stidda, Mala del Brenta, Banda della Magliana, Basilischi. All of them have something in common: they have been using and still use violence and threats to get what they want from scared and peaceful citizens.

“Gomorra” is a film by Matteo Garrone based upon the bestselling book “Gomorra” by Roberto Saviano (Crowned by the New York Times as one of the 100 best 2007 books). The movie won the Cannes Festival and it’s the Italian candidate for the Academy awards 2009.

It opens a window on the reality, maybe more dramatic and violent than the actual one, on a small town in the Southern Italy where the power of the Camorra has spred its tentacles in the life of the whole community. The story is told through the eyes of several characters living different situations, all connected to the Camorra.

The film, as well as the book are impregnated with almost tangible hard feelings towards this organization, feelings that most of the Italian people share, but only those who have endured this reality on their skin can really, deeply understand.

Saviano said: “3600 deaths ever since I was born. The Camorra killed more than the Sicilian Mafia, more than the ‘Ndrangheta, more than the Russian Mafia, more than the Albanian Mafia, more than the Spanish ETA and the Irish IRA coupled together, more than the Brigate Rosse, more than the NAR and more than all of the State bloodsheds in Italy”.

These deaths were not of soldiers fighting for their country. Most of them were innocent citizens, some were law enforcement both low and high ranked, all of them refused to bend their will to the violence of “the organization”.

This is the reality shown clear and graphic in “Gomorra” a movie that I can really recommend to anybody, any age and any country. Everybody should know what, for some people, exactly means, going to bed not knowing if they’ll ever wake up and waking up with the fear of not being able to ever go to bed again… And not because there is a war going on or an invasion by another country, but simply because that’s the reality of their lives, every day and there is no other option but accepting it.