Romanzo Criminale (2005)

You won't be disappointed!

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

A warning to all, as i review the Italian language version of the movie - which i also assume to be the long cut; Just bare with me, it will all make sense soon.Romanzo Criminal (RC) is a made-for-TV film, almost three hours long, a "serialized" film as we like to call them. This is the faithful screen adaptation of a book by the same name, that much in the style of James Ellroy, purports to be a work of fiction, while actually telling a real story with a few mysterious holes filled in by fiction.In the 80's the Italian capitol, Roma, was ruled by the Banda Della Magliana, a group of ruthless criminals who wiped out the old "ruling class" by using modern methods and extreme ..well, ruthlessness; Broad daylight murders, holding corporations, organized dealings, and a desire for power that ignored all consequences. The film deals with their supposed origins, ascension to power, and fall at the hands of a determined - and lucky - marshall.Now, generally i wouldn't touch Italian film with the proverbial ten foot pole, especially a modern film and one made for TV most of all, but RC does away with most Italian modern film conventions and delivers a realistic, well paced, and altogether meaningful package. The characters are well developed(and they certainly are nothing like you will get in any other film), the acting is good (not really a great effort, since the actors were basically asked to not act, but there still is a great commitment and good final product), and the story is just fantastic.While great in the first half, the film suffers near the end, perhaps because while the first half of the film is a smaller period of time, the second is a longer period and more compressed, and while the "setting up the organization" is where most of the action and daring is, the rest is slower and more complex sub-plots are weaved in, making the storyline a bit murky.Now, i expect italians to watch this, but for a foreigner to catch this film, translated, it is still worth a shot; I personally can't vouch for the translation (and many films do suffer when translated, especially one as based on characters as this one is), but if you have the chance, try it, if translators made any effort at all you will be very pleasantly surprised.7/10 (10/10 scaled with the usual Italian muck)

I've only just watched this on TV but have been meaning to watch it for a while now (never seemed to be sent from my rental list!).I recently watched Gomorrah and was disappointed with it considering the ridiculously over-hyped reviews it got. Gomorrah made no sense, seemed to be edited badly and like one other reviewer pointed out - had some information at the very end of the film that should have been placed at the start...I don't know what the makers of the film were thinking! Very confusing to watch and the five strands didn't really mesh together well. Some good parts thought but not good as a whole.Romanza Criminale on the other hand...straight away you are introduced to the characters and know where you are with them. Much better for the viewer compared to Gomorrah. The translation for Romanza Criminale is 'Crime Novel' and this made me think 'Pulp Fiction'. However, this is more like an Italian version of Goodfellas with a bit of Once Upon a Time in America thrown in - we see the protagonists as kids then grown up etc.Im not going to go into details but if you want to see a gangster film with a difference, watch this! The subtitles don't distract you at all and the performances are great.Better than Gomorrah. By far.

The most famous criminal within Italy is easily the Mafia, but here is a film that shows a crime organisation that was not link them.Set in the 70s and 80s Romanzo Criminale tells the story of three friends Ice (Kim Rossi Stuart), Lebanese (Riccardo Scamarcio) and Dandy (Claudio Santamaria) who in the 70s rise up the Rome underworld, forming a gang to kidnap wealthy people, drug dealing and murdering the heads of rival gangs. They quickly raise to the top, with Ice and Dandy finding love on the way, Ice with a pretty young tutor Roberta (Jasmine Trinca) and Dandy with an up-market escort Patrizia (Anna Mouglalis). The gang have to face a number of threats, from Communist Terrorists, the Italian government and the very demanded police commissioner Scialoja (Stefano Accorsi).Romanzo Criminale is a very well acted film, with excellent performances across the board. Many of the actors in the film should have a good future ahead of them. There a good action set pieces, with Michele Placido being very skilled behind the camera. The film is violence but not OTT. He pacing can be a little slow at times, but he knew what he was doing, showing both the gangster side of the film with the more personal and tender moments. However, his opening credit scene felt too much like a Guy Ritchie film and should have avoided that. They is a strong script, with a lot of elements and subplots throughout the film. They is a quite a lot to follow so needs a few viewings. The soundtrack is also very notable.A very worthy film.

The problem with this movie is that it is misunderstood. It contains the Hollywood likings with it being compared to scarface and godfather..... American gangster movies. This is NOT an American movie its European, it contains everything that a contemporary European movie has at its heart. The movie focuses on love, emotions, relationships and evokes those true emotions of past historical events. Yet with Hollywood narrative conventions this will confuse or put a strictly Hollywood audience on edge and raise questions.But do not be put off this is an excellent movie those who like the documentary style of City of God will not be disappointed with this movie as the cinematography will have frequent reminders of it! The acting is superb there are few flaws in any of the acting in this movie, all is believable and lovable, as an audience you are automatically emotionally attached to the characters. Especially those of Ice, Dandy and Lebanese.This movie is hard to criticise yet it may confuse some members of its audience yet definitely worth seeing! For those who have never seen a foreign film this maybe hard going with its over 2 hour running time but you will not be disappointed!