"Mafioso" and Alberto Sordi

Though I have a busy schedule this morning, I just had to pop in here to mention a wonderful film that I saw last night at the Ritz at the Bourse Theatre in Philadelphia last night. The title of the film is "Mafioso" and it stars the incomparable Italian Cinema star Alberto Sordi. It's a brilliant dark comedy with several existentialist twists.



From The New Yorker by Anthony Lane:
Antonio Badalamenti (Alberto Sordi) is every inch the modern Sicilian. He is organized and forward-looking; he is married to a blonde from Bellagio (Norma Bengell), and they have two blond daughters; he lives in Milan and works as a foreman at a Fiat plant. But the call of home is strong, and, when Antonio drags the family back to his native village for a vacation, the loyalties of the past rise up to consume him. “Mafioso,” Alberto Lattuada’s comedy from 1962, which was recently showcased at the New York Film Festival in a restored version that will play in revival at the Angelika and at Lincoln Plaza starting Jan. 19, clamors for rediscovery. Filmed in a hot and bleached black-and-white, it manages to swerve from culture-clashing farce to alarming suspense without losing control; admirers of the Corleones, or, indeed, of Tony Soprano, will revel in the fleshy, pontifical presence of Don Vincenzo (Ugo Attanasio), the head of the local Mafia. The small favor that he asks of the fawning Antonio is the movie’s big surprise; if you give it away, the Don will not be happy.


If you get a chance, and enjoy Italian cinema as much as I, you should definitely see this film during it's current re-release.