April 8, 2013

The Sicilian Girl

Director: Marco Amenta

Country: Italy

Release: 2009

This film is based on a true story from the 1980’s, of a Rita Mancuso, a strong–willed girl, raised in a village in Sicily by a doting father and unaffectionate mother. Her father is a prominent, respected man in the village and well connected with the local mafia. After both her beloved father, and later her brother, are senselessly (in her eyes) murdered by mafia cohorts with whom they disagree, she decides to go against everything she knows and believes in and break the code of silence to testify against those responsible for her family’s deaths. As a result, she is reviled by her mother and her village and hunted by those she seeks to punish for her betrayal. In order to exact her revenge, she must seek the help of a prosecutor who she initially sees as a natural enemy of her family’s way of life and holds in contempt. In witness protection in safe houses in Rome, she reluctantly and slowly develops a qualified respect and bond with the prosecutor she is collaborating with, as they build a case against the mob. In the meantime, the long and powerful reach of the mafia do everything to prevent her testimony and to exact revenge for her betrayal. Despite strong precautions, the Mafia is surprisingly effective in their attempts to intimidate Rita, the prosecutor, the police and even the justice system itself. A frightening and cautionary tale of the impotence of governmental authority against the ubiquitous power of organized crime – but you cannot argue with the premise since the facts in the movie is based on the real life story of Rita. An absorbing, true story of crime, revenge and defiance.