Vincent on GOMORRA

American cinema is the largest movie industry in the world in terms of revenue and arguably the most global in the world as well. I strain to think of a topic that some movie hasn’t covered, and for this reason, I thought it was important for Global NY to go out and watch Gomorrah, directed by Matteo Garrone. Gangsterism is particularly a popular topic for American movies. Through this medium, directors such as Scorsese and Coppola have ingeniously explored betrayal, corruption, importance of families vs. cronies, and loyalty. I can watch The Departed, The Godfather, and Goodfellas over and over again yet they never cease to amaze. So captivating are these films, though, that we can easily overlook the real problem. Gomorra is a fresh perspective and the real problem is the topic of this film. This movie isn’t as plot-driven as American crime thrillers. It’s almost as if a camera swooped in from the skies and landed in an unfortunate part of Naples and captured the Camorra in the midst of a war. This semi-documentary effectively portrays a crime organization’s firm grasp over local affairs. Everyone contributes to the Camorra, whether they want to or not, and those who have the tenacity or stupidity (remember the two knuckleheads who come across a secret stash of weapons?) to cross them are mercilessly killed. Then the movie ends. This, I feel, is important. Nothing is resolved they way we want it to be and the Camorra is still a problem. This is Italy’s perspective of gangsterism—a problem that is very much theirs and one that American filmmakers have inadvertently (or sometimes not so inadvertently) glorified.

Thank you, fellow Global NYers and anyone else who tagged along for the film. I hoped you guys enjoyed it as much as I did!