Il traditore (2019)

Directed by: Marco Bellocchio | 145 minutes | biography, crime | Actors: Pierfrancesco Favino, Luigi Lo Cascio, Fausto Russo Alesi, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Fabrizio Ferracane, Nicola Calì, Giovanni Calcagno, Bruno Cariello, Bebo Storti, Vincenzo Pirrotta, Goffredo Maria Bruno, Gabriele Cicirello, Paride Cicirello

Although the organization has a much longer history, it was in the 1980s and 1990s that the general public really became acquainted with the Sicilian mafia, an organization known as cosa nostra (‘our cause’). Where the cosa nostra used to make every effort to operate behind the scenes as much as possible, this changed with the rise of the Corleonesi, an equally ambitious and ruthless mafia clan from the modest town of Corleone.

Especially after the ruthless Salvatore ‘Toto’ Riina, a man who was nicknamed ‘the beast’ for a reason and who combined the ancient codes of the mafia with enormous cruelty, managed to become capo dei capi (boss of bosses) , the streets of Palermo were bathed in blood. Not only rivals within organized crime, but also government officials, politicians and police officers under Riina’s rule fell victim to targeted assassinations. The morbid images of bullet-riddled corpses are still fresh in the minds of many Italians. The war against the Italian state unleashed by Riina culminated in the murder of anti-mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. In particular, the bombing that killed Falcone and his wife caused a wave of (inter)national indignation and definitively pulverized every ounce of sympathy for the mafia among the Italian people.

The settlement with Falcone and Borsellino was mainly inspired by the so-called Maxi process (1986-1992), a state offensive against the cosa nostra that led to the conviction of countless mafiosi. Among the convicts were several authoritative figures within the Sicilian mafia. Riina was also sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment during the trial, but it would take until 1993 before the murderous boss of the bosses was finally caught. The trial would never have been possible without the cooperation of regretful optant Tommaso Buscetta, the first leading mafia member to break the sacred omertà (duty of silence). Buscetta was a loyal member of the cosa nostra for many years and earned a fortune from the heroin trade. During the 1980s, however, he became permanently estranged from the organization because he loathed Riina’s approach and feared for his own life. Riina’s revenge was not forthcoming: while Buscetta had already started a new family in Brazil, the Corleonesi murdered several of Buscetta’s Italian relatives. The victims also included the two sons from his first marriage. Buscetta’s testimonies gave authorities the first insight into the structure and organization of the mysterious cosa nostra and identified key criminal figures within the organization.

‘Il traditore’ (The traitor) tells the story of Buscetta and the Maxi process in feature film form. The film opens, like the three parts of the ‘Godfather’ series, with a festive get-together in which the main criminal protagonists are present. Although everything seems peaceful on the surface, you can already sense the subcutaneous tension between the various characters. Within mafia circles, your killers are often people you know and trust. This feeling of mistrust and paranoia, which runs like a thread through the film, is perfectly captured in words, gestures, glances and subtle body language. After the festive overture, the film follows the turbulent life of Buscetta, from his stay in Brazil to his appearance as a witness in the Maxi trial, ending with his anonymous existence under a new identity in the United States.

The story of Buscetta is in good hands with filmmaker Marco Bellocchio. He manages to paint a picture of one of the most turbulent periods in modern Italian history, seemingly effortlessly interweaving the great social story with Tommaso Buscetta’s personal calvary. Although the film has a largely chronological and classical structure, ‘Il traditore’ is at the same time a fragmentary story. There is a lot of and often rapid switching between locations, while the realistic scenes – such as the report of the Maxi trial and the unadorned assassination attempts – are sometimes interrupted by imaginary passages. The most memorable example of this functionally tinged surrealism is the nightmarish dream sequence in which we see Buscetta being placed in a coffin by his loved ones. Poetic, symbolic and oppressive at the same time.

‘Il traditore’ is largely worn by Pierfrancesco Favino. His portrayal of Tommaso Buscetta is layered and sheds light on multiple sides of the repentant ex-mafioso. We see both his vulnerable and tough side, while also Buscetta’s reputation as a playboy and womanizer. A point of criticism is that Buscetta’s personality is romanticized a bit too much. Reference is made to his dark past and narcissistic traits, but in the end we mainly see an engaging, characterful and guilty character. Given the historical context of the story, Bellocchio could have reserved some more space in his epic for Giovanni Falcone, after all, the righteous chief architect of the Maxi process.

Yet ‘Il traditore’ is a beautiful piece of cinema full of tension, emotion, tragedy, melancholy and violence. A socially relevant film, too, which meets the need to give a face to an important and traumatic period in Italian history.