The Boss Of Two Worlds... (Review by Verne Rowin Munsamy The film will feature on the programme of the European Film Festival which runs from November 12 to 22, 2020). )
The European Film Festival, embarking on a virtual journey, offers award winning European films, including The Traitor. Directed by Marco Bellocchio and featuring a strong cast comprising Pierfrancesco Favino, Maria Fernonanda Candido, Nicola Cali, Luigi Lo Cascio, Fabrizio Ferragamo and Fauto Russo Alexis, this Italian drama brings us the thrills and spills of Mafia life and the downfall of one of the largest syndicates, the Cosa Nostra, in the early 1980s. This historic trial of over 300 Mafia members was initiated by the arrest of the informant, Mafia boss Don Masino Buscetta.
This intriguing story tells of the Don who, due to internal threat, bargained his trade secrets to save the lives of his family and himself. In doing so, he implicated 366 Mafia members and brought down the heroine trade in the early 80s.
The movie begins in celebration as the major king-pins gather for festivities and merriment. The scenery depicts the glamorous life of the Mafia, with picturesque views of Rio, which is then contracted by the dangerously violent streets of Italy, where influential members of the Costa Nostra were being eliminated, with all members of the bloodline in jeopardy.
The score best exemplified this juxtaposition as it ebbs and flows in the beginning between jubilation and devastation, crashing waves when an eerie countdown begins before death approaches and settles in silence when Masino is in chambers with the judge. The protagonist is forced into a position where he has to betray his beliefs and forever be an outcast to his family.
The end sees Don Masino, in his old age, still holding onto a rifle, expecting a hit man to appear, seeking revenge, which in real life never happens as he dies in his bed, in his sleep. His journey to ostracisation is marked through his journey as a witness in court which spans years. He first appears behind a glass plate with heavy security but as the trail proceeded and spilled over years we see him appear with less of a threat and no security and older every time. His flashback to his childhood, visiting a zoo and seeing a caged white tiger is what best symbolizes this once powerful Don's journey.
The scenery for his new surroundings, in witness protection, are not as luscious as they once were. He is forced into an ordinary life, with his fear of death by bullet spurred on by his own actions of violence and murder. This grilling tale will attract lovers of gangster, Mafia, movies with a historical relevance as the script captivates and draws us into sympathy for the protagonist. - Verne Rowin Munsamy
“The Traitor” can be seen from November 12 to 22, 2020, on the European Film Festival’s website. Click on the advert to the right of this article or visit https://www.eurofilmfest.co.za/
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