The Traitor (Il Traditore)
Directed by: Marco Bellocchio
Written by: Marco Bellocchio & Valia Santella & Ludovica Rampoldi & Francesco Piccolo
Starring: Pierfrancesco Favino, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Nicola Calì, Luigi Lo Cascio, Fabrizio Ferracane, Fausto Russo Alesi, Gabriele Cicirello, Paride Cicirello, Vincenzo Pirrotta
Biography/Crime/Drama - 145 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 4 Feb 2020
Written by: Marco Bellocchio & Valia Santella & Ludovica Rampoldi & Francesco Piccolo
Starring: Pierfrancesco Favino, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Nicola Calì, Luigi Lo Cascio, Fabrizio Ferracane, Fausto Russo Alesi, Gabriele Cicirello, Paride Cicirello, Vincenzo Pirrotta
Biography/Crime/Drama - 145 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 4 Feb 2020
Even though he is the one itemizing the clandestine Cosa Nostra’s inner-most secrets, hierarchies, and histories in front of a packed courtroom, Tommaso Buscetta is no turncoat; he is the only loyal foot soldier left - at least that's how he sees it. The organized crime family Buscetta came up with was family, they took care of the poor, and acted more like a corrupt union than anything inherently malevolent. It was more extreme elements who latched onto the heroin trade and implemented brutal forms of violence against women and children, thereby breaking long-understood honor codes, who are the traitors. Buscetta may wear some rose-tinted glasses in his perspective of how the Cosa Nostra operates, but director Mario Bellocchio extends him flattering sympathy. Buscetta did not change over night and decide to betray his way of life. He no longer recognized his brothers-in-crime as money, drugs, and an acute lack of hitman ethics poisoned the good ol' days.
There are Godfather stereotypes aplenty in The Traitor. Multiple baptisms, weddings, and funerals pepper the long and winding story of Buscetta’s self-exile, capture, extradition, and cooperation. Bellocchio did not make a biopic audiences are accustomed to - this is some 15 years in Buscetta’s life trying to stay alive in police custody while attempting to dismantle the Cosa Nostra from the witness chair. However, stereotypes are as close to The Godfather as The Traitor comes. It’s more courtroom theatrics than family dynasty. The Traitor also lacks universal appeal.
There are Godfather stereotypes aplenty in The Traitor. Multiple baptisms, weddings, and funerals pepper the long and winding story of Buscetta’s self-exile, capture, extradition, and cooperation. Bellocchio did not make a biopic audiences are accustomed to - this is some 15 years in Buscetta’s life trying to stay alive in police custody while attempting to dismantle the Cosa Nostra from the witness chair. However, stereotypes are as close to The Godfather as The Traitor comes. It’s more courtroom theatrics than family dynasty. The Traitor also lacks universal appeal.
Any movie-goer can engage with the sagas of Vito and Michael Corleone. They’re intriguing as they maneuver attempted take-overs and assassinations. As for The Traitor, you must enter with a certain degree of familiarity with 1980's and ‘90's anti-Mafia history and somewhat of an appreciation of the labyrinthine Italian judicial system and greasy-palmed politicians. Never heard of Michael Andreotti or Judge Giovanni Falcone? You are at a disadvantage. For non-Italians, The Traitor is opaque. Lack of context and backstory are real barriers standing between us and what may or may not be an effective film if you’re on the inside and recall the spectacle.
Before the film succumbs to the monotony of second half court scenes and screaming matches, part one is relatively sprite with Buscetta (Pierfrancesco Favino, Rush) enjoying a life in Brazil apart from the machete and machine gun murders back in Sicily. Brazilian authorities wrap up Buscetta before the rival mafia clan, known as the Corelonesi, can add Tommaso to their body count. There is a very instructive scene, of I suspect unknown veracity, where we understand how law enforcement were able to get a mob boss to sit down and start naming names. Hanging a gentleman's wife outside a helicopter over an imposing body of water has a way of loosening tongues. There are hundreds of scenes of menacing men persuading their target to talk, but Bellocchio's helicopter segment will stick longer than most.
Buscetta’s one-on-one interviews with Judge Falcone (Fausto Russo Alesi, The Double Hour) are a highlight. These two verbally joust through metaphors and hinting stories as they dissect whether or not they can trust one another. Falcone respects “Don Masino” and may even empathize with his predicament, a man adrift from his foundation. Their conversations are so effective, Falcone puts 475 mafia members on trial at the same time. I have no idea to what extent the multiple trials Bellocchio lines up on screen are verbatim, but I pray a defendant really did stitch his mouth shut in the courtroom and another guy pleaded he had to smoke cigars for his health; he could even get a doctor’s note to back him up.
American audiences will be at a loss to follow the majority of the characters thrown at us. Bellocchio displays a dozen or so names as the crime family poses for a picture in the first few minutes and none of it matters because the who’s who is lost in a moment. One can only sort through the menagerie of preening and chin-flicking goons in the courtroom scenes if you absorbed Italian tabloids when all of this went down. Bellocchio asks the audience whether Buscetta was a defender of the faith or the world’s sleaziest stool pigeon, but only movie-goers with any amount of real world understanding possess the tools to stake an informed opinion.
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