Rebel with a cause
Marco Amenta’s La siciliana ribelle (2009) tells the true tale of Rita Atria (Veronica D’Agostino), the 17-year-old daughter of a slain Sicilian Cosa Nostra boss and sister to his dead son, who in 1991 broke ‘the Family’s’ sacred code of omertà (silence) and aided anti-Mafia police with their investigations.
Gérard Jugnot plays the anti-Mafia judge, Paolo Borsellino, who tried his very best to protect his charge but who was himself murdered as payback for his attempts to bring the Mafia to book.
The film, while somewhat high-pitched, nevertheless makes a decent attempt to show how even a formerly loyal ‘Family’ youngster might choose to renounce her own blood to find justice – however, director Amenta (who also co-wrote with Sergio Donati and Gianni Romoli) leaves gaps in his vision, which are even more apparent when compared with other recent portrayals of Italian gangster life, such as Matteo Garrone’s superb Gomorra (2008).
One is left with impression that La siciliana ribelle is not really making every effort to honour, as should be honoured, the bravery of its central characters.
These were people who faced an enemy that would seemingly stop at nothing, but, unfortunately, the problems begin with the central performance – Atria was doubtless an incredibly brave young woman, but D’Agostino’s performance frequently presents her as being little more than shallow, precocious, irritating even.
Not, one would imagine, the desired effect, as the story quite rightly centres on the burden that Rita inherits, but her character’s flaws, though doubtless honestly portrayed, make the film as a whole somewhat inaccessible and difficult to appreciate, thus creating a barrier with the audience.
On the other hand, Jugnot is excellent as Borsellino, providing a balanced, moving counterpoint to D’Agostino’s excesses, imbuing the man with both quiet dignity and moral urgency.
In short, this may frustrate some viewers, but, thankfully, the central human truths at the film’s heart still shine through.
115 mins. In Italian.
