[yasr_overall_rating]
A grim chain of events occur after Leo, a goat herder’s son, who desires to be part of his uncles’ business, shoots up a rival family’s shop front.
“Black Souls” is more a family drama than Italian gangster flick although it does contain the basic structures of the genre: violence, shady business, and the random naked woman. At the heart of it, it is a story that focuses on three brothers, two of which are part of the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta, and the eldest who makes his place as a goat herder in their hometown of Africo. Their relationship concerns a struggle of understanding one another, a struggle of grieving and honoring one’s father, and a question of morality, all of which is complicated by the actions and desires of a naïve son who wishes to get in on the “family business” despite his father’s adamant disapproval.
We are introduced to Luigi (Marco Leonardi) and Rocco (Peppino Mazzotta) through their various sketchy business deals. It is simple to decipher early on that Luigi is an affable and hedonistic man, willing to take a risk for the sake of strengthening their family name, while his brother Rocco is more stone faced and serious, a man who is careful and decisive. While they live a glamorous life in Milan, their older brother Luciano (Fabrizio Ferracane) lives a simple life as a goat herder and tries to stay out of the business of his brothers. Everybody’s life is complicated when Luciano’s son Leo (Giuseppe Fumo) shoots up a rival family’s shop front. Leo idolizes his uncles and his grandfather, who was killed by the rival family when the three brothers were young. His actions, his youthful rebellion, bring Luigi and Rocco back to their family in Africo in order to help smooth out the situations that have erupted. All everyone finds is death. Death in dark alleys, death in abandoned buildings, and death at home.
“Black Souls” carries with it an authenticity captured by the astonishing cinematography of Vladan Roadovic. The use of light and shadow exaggerates the tropes of the film perfectly. There is always a feeling of intense isolation present. The region itself is beautiful yet hostile. One scene in particular captures this perfectly. The family is preparing a feast. There is dancing and singing. It’s almost a disorienting experience. It’s loud and fast, the camera focuses on one person to the next and then suddenly pans out and you see this craggy village with but a few souls on its surface. It’s a striking image that is met with increasing anxiety.
Francesco Munzi’s “Black Souls” (Anime Nere) executes this Italian gangster/family drama with sparse dialogue and cutting looks. The lack of dialogue strengthens the film, as it is able to emote its tragedy through the poetics and pain of expression and its exquisite cinematography. Because of this you feel as if you are only cutting your teeth on what is really simmering beneath the Carbone family, particularly the eldest brother Luciano. Although his disgust with his brother’s business and his son’s interest in being part of their business is made clear throughout the film, there are also moments where you don’t exactly know what he is thinking. While all the acting is superb, Fabrizio Ferracane’s performance as Luciano is piercing and carries the film well all the way to its gut-wrenching ending, cutting away any confusion that may have developed. It is clear that the family is definitely finished with the pull of the trigger.
At the Angelika Film Center in Dallas & Plano May 8th
