In the film "Gomorrah," a young, would-be mobster amuses his friend by reciting Al Pacino's lines from "Scarface" inside an abandoned villa that eerily resemblances Tony Montana's lair in the same movie.
"That villa was built by a real big boss who is now in jail," says director and screenwriter Matteo Garrone. "He gave to the architect a tape of 'Scarface' and said he wanted it exactly like Tony Montana. It's amazing."
If there's a certain fun-house mirror distortion blurring the lines between reality and fiction in this scene, it's all the more powerful because Garrone was trying to make a movie as truthful as possible about the reality of organized crime in southern Italy and how it permeates every fiber of society in the province of Naples.
"I was interested in showing a different point of view than 'The Godfather' or 'GoodFellas,' " he says. "These movies are the models for these people, but their real lives are different. We wanted to develop the confusion between reality and fiction. They act like they're in an American action movie."
"Gomorrah" is a pun on the Camorra, the crime network centered in Naples, where much of the movie was shot on location. A gritty, documentary tone strips away every vestige of style and glamour usually associated with both Italy and mafia movies. None of the actors has a face that would ever land a Hollywood role. Most of the action takes place in housing projects, bleak factories or seedy clubs. The characters even dress badly, wearing sweat pants and American sports jerseys. It's the rare Italian film that makes you not want to go to Italy.
"The movie I think has a kind of anthropological value," Garrone says. "It was important to reinvent the imagery of the criminal without glamorizing. We chose very carefully every face in the movie. There are other parts of Naples that are beautiful that other directors will show."
'Very strong images'
"Gomorrah," which won the Grand Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, opens a one-week run in Los Angeles on Friday so it can qualify as Italy's official entry for the Oscars. The film is scheduled for wide release in February.
The movie is based on a bestselling book of the same name, written by Roberto Saviano. "I read the book a few weeks after it was published," says Garrone, who was in Los Angeles recently for a screening. "I found the book powerful, also visual with very strong images and characters, and different from all the characters I saw in mafia movies. I said, 'Maybe we can try to make a movie different from all the mafia movies and shot from inside.' "
