Gomorrah 2008

“The best film at this Cannes Film Festival was Gomorrah. A piercing depiction of a swathe of Italian society in the choking grip of the Napoli Mafia, the Camorra, it is the only chef d'oeuvre [at Cannes]. Matteo Garrone, working from the bestseller by Roberto Saviano, has created a modern classic that blends documentary inquiry with a thrilling crisscross of stories and characters all caught in the web of slavery and poverty spun by the Mafia. This isn't a film about mythology and glamour in the way that American movies have fetishised the mob, but a brutal confrontation between the thuggish morality and the Camorra's skewed economic logic. In a simple pitch, it's City of God meets The Godfather. There are plenty of nods to neo-realism to... yet what makes it special is the director's ability to balance his protagonists and storylines while drawing pity, shock and humour from the situation.” — Jason Solomons, The Observer

"Gomorrah's a sweeping, stirring drama that has the shoot-and-loot tension of the best crime cinema but also has the scope and serious intent of great drama… Gomorrah has plenty of virtues to help recommend its broad-canvas portrait of vice; it's vulgar and vital, human and horrifying, and you sincerely care about what happens to these people and you recognize that you're getting a glimpse into a very specific part of the world while also witnessing a series of stories that could be playing out almost anywhere in the modern world… Moviegoers who aren't afraid of the rough, real raw stuff in modern moviemaking should seek out Gomorrah's bleak beauty and cruel clarity by any means necessary.” — James Rocchi, Cinematical