Antonio, a conscientious factory official, takes his wife and children to meet his family in Sicily and finds himself in the favor of local mobster Don Vincenzo. Terrified and conflicted, he tells his family that he is going hunting but instead seeks out an enemy of the mafia in New York.
Mafioso may be 45 years old, but it's as bracingly relevant as anything else in theaters today. Even in the heat of a dry Sicilian summer, the film looks fresh as a lemon tree. And when you bite down hard, it's just as bitter.
If you crossed Meet the Parents with The Godfather and filmed it 45 years ago in Italian, you might come close to Mafioso, a black-and-white gem from 1962 whose appearance in local theaters is inexplicable but most welcome.
Director Alberto Lattuada's seriocomic 1962 look at the Sicilian mob lifestyle broke the omerta, providing a look at the sordidly fascinating life of the wiseguy.
It feels like a comedy, and then a dark drama, and then, no, wait . . . a semicomic documentary, right? The effect, carried brilliantly by Sordi, is delightful.
If you're curious to see the roots of Mafia-related cinema (or even if you simply enjoy a well-made, well-acted film), don't miss Mafioso, a fresh, and still engaging comedy-drama.
Antonio Badalamenti; factory supervisor, loving husband, devoted father, reluctant hit-man.
April 15, 2009
Randy Tippy
Super Reviewer
It is surprising and strange to us how the mafia works in Italy, which is shown in this movie, but this movie is exciting and very funny. I enjoyed it.
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