NNarrative CompetitionOriginal Title: È stato il figlio
Director: Daniele Ciprì
Italy, France | Italian
2012 | 90min. | Colour
Subtitles: Arabic, English
Format: DCP
15+Meet the Ciraulo family. They’re not your typical suburban Palermo household – at least let’s hope not. Family patriarch Nicola (the always incredible Toni Servillo) dreams of being a big shot, but he barely scrapes by scavenging scrap metal from the local shipyard. He’s constantly riding berating his daydream-prone son and hardheaded daughter, and Mom does little to defend them. When one is caught in the crossfire of a botched mob hit, a tragedy that could have brought the Ciraulos together instead only reveals the true depth of their heinous selfishness. So far best known for his award-winning cinematography on films like Vincere, and for the films he co-directed with Franco Maresco, Daniele Ciprì makes his solo directing debut (he also co-wrote the screenplay, adapted from Roberto Alajmo’s novel) with this biting satire of working-class Sicilians. He frames this tragicomic family portrait as a story within a story, recounted by an old-timer in the post office, giving the audience distance enough from the unfurling events to wonder if the story they’re hearing about ‘a boy who killed his father over a scratched car’ can really be true, and building great momentum toward an out-of-left-field ending. Ciprì also takes on cinematography duties. He creates distinct – and equally stunning – visuals for both sides of the narrative, contrasting the matte-like finish of the Ciraulos’ story with the gloss of the present. As for Servillo’s performance – well, it’s not as if we needed another reason to tout him as one of Italy’s greatest actors after his stunning work in acclaimed films like Paolo Sorrentino’s The Consequences of Love and Il divo and Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah.

– Joel Hoglund