Gomorrah (2008)
There is no lack of films about the big guys at the top of gangster syndicates, but this one removes all the supposed glamour and coolness, and show the depressing reality of the foot soldiers in these crime organizations. Those we see getting shot as cannon fodder in other films. We see the environment that forms these people, why it is almost inevitable they end up with their cruel fate. This is definitely more City of God than Goodfellas. The structure of the film is both a strength and a weakness, with its disjointed slice of life without a central anchor point or coherent plot thread. It makes the events rather confusing, but it fits the focus of the film as it just helps to underline what people are actual experiencing. Things don’t make sense, everything is messy and most people are just going with the flow from day to day with no bigger plan than allowing to exist and survive.
Criterion Challenge 2026 - 31. Watch a film rated 3.7 stars
Rating: 4