The Catholic School (2021) User Reviews

Initially intriguing, but ultimately unbalanced and disappointing.

[johannes2000-1 · 6/10 · 21 September 2022]

This movie is primarily meant as a rendition of a true murder and rape case, committed by some high school teens back in the seventies in Italy. But that story only pops up in the last 20 minutes of the movie. Before that we get to see a whole string of side-stories, all more or less around the various scholars of a chic catholic high school. I didn't quite grasp how all these stories should relate to the crime (apart from the fact that they mostly circle around the sexual curiosity of all those teens). A voice-over by one of the schoolboys constantly utters vague, unfathomable and pretentious profundities, of which it's equally unclear what the link with the crime is. The title of the movie seems to suggest that the fact that the school is catholic is essential to all the goings-on, but this is nowhere in the movie made concrete.

The sequence of the rapes and murder is pretty harsh and realistically done, with the two boys blood chillingly cold and almost clinical in their actions. This part of the movie is impressive, albeit hard to watch. But the motivation or reasons for the actions by the two are never revealed, these in fact came (at least to me) totally out of the blue. After more than an hour preliminary movie-time building-up to this climax, this is at least a bit disappointing.

To me this is at best an intriguing movie about a gruesome and senseless crime. And the settings to revive the 70's are flawlessly done. But there's too much that distracts from the pivotal story, which makes this an unbalanced and in the end disappointing movie.

Not an entertaining movie to be honest

[menichinialessio · 6/10 · 28 July 2022]

The film seems to be a little bit boring in some parts, decent acting from some, bad from others. The real story of the murder hasn't been explicated well, a lot of missing parts that the plot needed hasn't been added to the work. However the picture and the good aesthetic of the 70's save this film from a worst vote.

Harsh reality, no fantasy!

[itsanjali-72711 · 6/10 · 18 September 2022]

Don't expect any entertainment in this movie as it shows harsh reality. In the beginning the movie is very boring as it focuses on the early school life of the 3 perprators. The actual movie begins in last 30 mins when they commit the heinous crime. It also shows that crime is not related to poverty, or lack of education. A criminal becomes criminal because of other reasons- most basic being the mindset. These 3 men were well educated & from elite families but still they committed such a shocking crime. As for us girls, it's a lesson not to believe any strangers or go out with them thinking that they are from a good family, they can't be criminal. It's sad to know that in reality 2 out of the 3 criminals are free, living their life like a normal person while Donatella (the girl out of the 2 victims who was alive) died of breast cancer at age of 47. Another shocker is one of the criminal Angelo Izzo was released in 2005 for 'good conduct' & then he murdered 2 more women, only to be sentenced again. As for Rosaria, the girl who dies, her parents didn't Sue them for an exchange of £100 m, such a shame! That's the money they think is enough for life of the daughter taken by these monsters. It's after this incident that sexual violence against a person was considered as a crime in Italy.

a masacre

[Kirpianuscus · 20 September 2022]

A real case. And the cruelty of teenagers , from whealty , students of a Catholic elite school, reminds about The Lord of Flies by William Golding and the testimony of a school mate of the rapers and killers of two girls.

An analysis of hypocrisy and apparences, about indifferent parenthood and the mistakes of people of Church. Homosexuality, first sexual experience, sadism and bizarre families.

In short, a decent film, more for fair recreation of the atmosphere of 1970 decade than for story , dominated by too many holes and blank scenes.

An obvious noble purpose but ambiguous result of craft.

An image of Italy in 1970 decade , dominated by violence, excceses, hedonism and terrible tragedies.

The main problem of film - the bitter taste after final end credits. Not about subject but about storytelling , deserving be better.

So, a masacre . Unfortunately, in many senses.

Well done and interesting if predictable

[lewianbra · 7/10 · 8 September 2022]

I think that this is a solid and largely well done film. The acting is fine and the exposition of the family, school, and social life of the students who ultimately committed the Massacro del Circeo gives some food for thought. Some historical facts are missing so that the story told by the film may give a slightly biased impression, but this is normal for films of this kind that are based on real events but do not attempt to be documentaries, still somewhat problematic. I wouldn't rate the film as outstanding; if you read even just the official announcements about the film in advance, you will know where things are going (although I hadn't studied the story enough to know everything in advance, there was the odd little surprise), and the "rigid catholic school and disfunctional families bring forth disturbed characters" theme wasn't exactly done for the first time, but anyway, I could get something out of this. 7/10.

Machist and fascist gender violence

[danybur · 6/10 · 4 October 2022]

Summary

The film tries to deploy, in a quite unconnected way, the family and educational framework in which the youth of the wealthy class criminals who perpetrated the macho crime known as Circeo Massacre, of enormous event in Italy.

It is a pity that the director Stefano Mordini escamotee almost completely the political dimension of the crime, since he does not mention the fascist sympathies of the criminals, at a time when neo -fascism rises victorious precisely in Italy for the first time since the 2nd World War and advances with its instigations and hate crimes in many parts of the world, including Argentina.

Review.

This film describes the crime known as "Circeo Massacre", which occurred from 1975, as well as some students of the Catholic School for Men Leone Magno, among whom were their young perpetrators.

The film begins with the trunk of a car from which a female voice asks for help. Then it continues in a series of flashbacks where director Stefano Mordini tries to describe the cultivation broth from which the criminals came. There are a series of unconnected vignettes about classes at school, some of their rites and the families of some of the students (the voice of one of them acts as the rapporteur in off), some of which seem to conduct narratively to anywhere . From all these scenes a macho, misogyn and homophobic class matrix is released. Finally, we are shown the criminal act itself (which should not reveal so as not to subtract dramatic impact) from which those who would be their executors and who their victims in the anterior part of the film were emerging. Anyway, I consider that a dramatic progression is missing or, in any case, surprising the violence deployed with a certain conjunction of coldness and cruelty that it vaguely remembers (and saving the distances) to Saló from Pasolini. Perhaps physical violence has something that always implies an abrupt jump on its precedents.

Crime is an act of all these dimensions of hatred: a ruthless act of gender violence with its strong macho and misogynistic elements and also classist here that marked a before and after in Italian legislation. Unfortunately, and unlike Edoardo Albinati's novel on which it is based, Mordini almost totally hides the political dimension of crime, since it does not mention the fascist sympathies of criminals, at a time when neo -fascism rises victorious precisely in Italy for the first time since World War 2nd and advances with their instigations and hate crimes in many parts of the world, including Argentina.

Finding a logic behind the randomly edited flashbacks is almost fascinating

[beatrice_gangi · 2/10 · 2 October 2022]

La scuola cattolica is a bad film that mistreats a story that should have been handled with more care, or rather, that exploits it to gain more visibility. The film has nothing to say and, in an attempt to hide it, it crumples over an empty and confusing structure accompanied by a narrator's voice blurting out what appear to be introspective profundities. As an Italian, I already knew this case, and hoped it would be treated with more justice, as an attempt to really understand why what happened happened, and to give a voice to the victims of the case. Instead, it is not clear what the director wants to do, other than displaying a gratuitous attempt to shock, some vague form of social polemic, and pointless observations on religion.

Poor little rich kids

[patherwill · 7/10 · 14 October 2022]

Groups of spoiled rich boys in their teens who appear to to flout the normal rules of the game, to push each other both physically and mentally until something snaps under the stress. The majority come from comfortable backgrouds where in most cases materialism replaces love, where it seems parents are quite happy providing they themselves can shirk most of their responsibilities towards their offspring. True, curfews are set, orders are given but generally there is NO check or follow-ups made to ensure rules aren't being broken. September 1975, 3 of the boys, Gianni Guido, Angelo Izzo and Andrea Ghira have made an agreement to kidnap and rape and/or murder two girls they vaguely know, Rosaria and Donatella. At the time, the Italian Penal Code only recognises RAPE as a MORAL crime NOT a Criminal one. They lay out their plans and begin to put them into action. The results are tragic for all concerned.

A confused narrative that's not clear about what it's trying to say

[Deathstryke · 3/10 · 17 September 2022]

I wasn't aware that this was a retelling of an actual rape murder in Italy and so I felt there was a lack of context for much of what happens, which sort of colors my review.

The first two thirds of the film follow a group of Catholic school boys -most of whom look to be in their mid twenties with receding hairlines- and their families, observing their caricaturized machismo behavior and sexual frustration through a bleak lens, portraying all of them as shady, violent deviants in the making. The director seems to be making the argument that all the boys are capable of the crime by showing us glimpses of their toxic bro culture and unsavory views on women, but it's done in such a broad way that we never really engage with any character in particular. One boy narrates the film, but there is no real protagonist and nobody to root for, bar the two female victims who appear in the final 30 mins.

Many of the plot points feel random and irrelevant to the over-arching narrative. For example, a lot of time is spent setting up one of the boys as being gay, but this never leads to anything. In another scene there is a traumatic accident involving the narrator's younger sister, but it just comes and goes without a sense of why this event is significant, or what imprint it has left on the characters.

The final third is a drawn out re-enactment of how three of the boys lure two young women to a house, imprison, rape and murder one of them. It's disturbing and believably acted, but my lack of context led me to feel like it came out of nowhere. The ending left me with a hollow feeling and while I appreciate it brought the victim's true story to my attention, the film didn't convince me of any of the sub textual points it was making about religion or masculinity. It was overall very scattered and confused.

Gruesome and traumatising

[bekiwij · 6/10 · 17 March 2023]

At first, there was nothing much to it. It was all about just boys experiencing sex for the first time. And then it became very sinister. I wish they had things explained a little bit more clearly because I could not really understand what was going on at the beginning. However towards the end, it became pretty clear. Acting was great and the cinematography was excellent. But I still feel like they could have made storyline more simpler, so it wouldn't confuse the audience. Specially going back and forth in time, was unnecessary because it did pretty much nothing to make the movie more interesting other than confusing. I guess that's why most people felt like they were watching some random Clips. This movie had potential to be excellent unfortunately it failed to deliver. 6 out of 10 for me!

Kinda pointless and boring

[kikiboo_8 · 3/10 · 22 September 2022]

Though based on a true story, the movie was incredibly slow-paced, boring and there was nothing enjoyable about it whatsoever.

There was no hero. No single central character to root for, to understand, to empathize with or to support.

The so called men here are a bunch of rather unattractive, bratty, spoiled teenagers with an upbringing so failed and horrible that they became monsters at some point.

They are stupid, whiny, shallow, demanding, petty and remind me of screaming five year olds throwing tantrums when things don't go their way. One is particularly disgusting and annoying, constantly calling his mother in an ultra dramatic, spoiled baby brat voice and appears to be on the verge of turning violent against her if she denies doing whatever he wants her to do.

None of these creatures show a slightest hint of remorse, humanity or one single redeeming quality. They all feel zero guilt and don't see anything wrong with what they did and on top of that they enjoy doing it.

The only characters remotely worth rooting for were their victims, but one dies and the other lives but there's no poetic justice for her. They get arrested and released after a few years and she lives to be 47, with no hint of how her life has been up until that point. Their arrest and all happens off screen or rather it's simply mentioned in the final minute or so through the text at the end of the film. The victim doesn't get treatment that we know of, doesn't get any type of justice or satisfaction, dies relatively young... So I wonder, what's the point of this movie? Telling a true story? There are lots and lots of rape plus murder stories out there, there's nothing particular about this one. It's dragged out and boring and there's nothing to be passionate about in it. Well, there is actually. I did wish I could jump through the screen and murder those despicable creatures. Other than that, it didn't do much of anything for me.

Currying favor of one's subjects advocated by history in documented ways.

[calsonassociates · 10/10 · 19 September 2022]

Even in difficult scenes of evil, there remains a philosophical discourse in this film. A form of motion picture that is also a documentary where there is an ordering of diverse cultural aspects of personalities who join as true and integral parts of time knotted together in a criminal mindset the filmmaker controls.

In an insistent education for a clandestine group who persists with unnatural truths whereby nothing stays the same in the volatile mix of passions, pride, and physical shortages that make up the ruler relationship among the players in this film. The audience should always expect redemption to alleviate their fears expecting new turnings of scenes that attempt to develop the characters portrayed.

Your patience in preventing the mind from judging will rest well in whatever power that is perceived as gained mistakes the actions offensive in nature as portrayed in the storyline set forth while one feels adversity to the conspiracy reflected well in this currying of the favor of one's subjects. Arbus, the character, begins a story of inadequacy.

It may appear surprising to most who do not notice historical important and recurring strategies while remaining loyal to fellow cast members who were once students and later became disgusting results of divided, greedy, undisciplined, disloyal, boastful human beings skulking before the evil enemy engaged in dominating and subservient lifestyles unacceptable to mankind.

Thank you kindly for allowing my chosen words expressing reason why the high rating was afforded for the sake of educating the human mind while respecting film history denoting all faiths with universal truths, love, and relief a system of justice requires. SMIB.

Boring, Confusing, Exploitative

[lee-96696 · 2/10 · 24 September 2022]

When the Netflix algorithm recommended this film, I clicked on the "more info" button and wouldn't you know it, within 15 seconds the actual movie started to roll. Well, there at the start was the Warner Brothers logo so, yes, I assumed this would be a serious, well-made film. No more due diligence needed.

What a mistake. The movie is not really about a Catholic School, though a school in Rome in the summer of 1975 is the setting for many scenes. Nor are the first three quarters of the movie about the horrific crime hinted at in the trailer. It's more about six or seven spoiled and indulged upper middle class boys -- I needed a scorecard to keep track of them -- and the various mini-dramas they and their families get into. The narrator, a junior at the school, does not help matters with his ponderous, pretentious voice overs trying to explain the meaning of male-ness in that place and time. Also confusing: jumps in time from "40 days before" the opening scene to "three hours before" then to "10 hours before," etc.

Then there is the crime itself. The scenes are nauseatingly graphic. Sheer exploitation. It would be NC-17 if it had a rating.

It would have better to focus exclusively on the crime and lead up, and done so in a more sensitive way. You know, old fashioned stuff like motives, backgrounds of the perpetrators, extenuating factors. Maybe more about the victims. Forget the other 10 or 12 characters.

Or....

Turn the whole mess into a six- or seven-part series. It is based on a true story and a novel of +1200 pages, so one hour and 45 minutes does not do it justice.

This movie had such great potential. It is a shame the producers coughed up this mess. And blame too goes to Netflix or buying such dreck.

Confused

[philip-00197 · 19 September 2022]

Filmmaking is an art form. As such, one could argue; the more subtle a director is in stirring up, evoking, an emotion - the more skilful her/his craftsmanship. There can only be so much in-your-face brutal realism before the stirring of emotions becomes default.

Stefano Mordini has graciously and carefully evolved the story line - he has also.presented scenes so "in your face" that; even if taken out of context and shown as "stand alone images" - they would, in most, evoke strong reactions. In, so blatantly, crossing the line, in not trusting his artistic ability to convey an emotion; he has an uphill battle with regard to presenting art in any higher order of merit.

Insecure in his ability to subtly deliver a strong closing message - Mordini has rendered La Scuola Cattolica an ambiguous affair with regard to genre. Starting out as an apparent art house production it later implodes into docu-drama. Fair to say that the two genres blend very poorly. The crossover makes little sense as; the effort put into the first part whith regard to subtlety and character development is, almost in an intant, thrown to the wind.

If you split the film in two parts, the first ending just before the gun was drawn, and followed both with the list of "what happened afterwards" - you would have two, stand alone films. Both, arguably complete, and both conveying the same story. A reasonable assumption would be that they were made by two different directors.

The end result is a mess, as are the generated emotions - emotions that almost feel thrust upon the viewer.

Great Story = Teenage sex gone wrong.

[co6779 · 6/10 · 23 March 2024]

I grew up in a catholic school so i can relate to this however its a step above in all honesty. At no time during my time in Catholic school in NYC did I feel above the law or the feelings of human decency, in that aspect the few portrayed here obviously had major personality / mental issues with how they seen other human beings, especially young woman. My wife took offense to this movie, the arrogance & lack of human decency among the teenage boys was very over the top for her.

I do not feel on the whole, Catholicism is the subject here but a few bad eggs with no regard for others, the total lack of empathy made it clear it was more than a religious situation, but poor upbringing & moral quality.

The title is flawed as religion had nothing to do with the horrible criminal behavior.

I would of rated it better but the religion is not the issue and it should not be in the title.

Italian Crime Drama based upon a semi-documentary novel by Edoardo ALBINATI

[ZeddaZogenau · 7/10 · 4 November 2023]

In 1975 there was a horrific crime among very young people in Rome that went down in Italian history as the "Circeo Massacre". The case caused a huge stir and was shortly afterwards taken up in the very successful crime film genre of Italian cinema. The films "I violenti di Roma bene (Violence for Kicks)" with GOLDEN GLOBE nominee Antonio SABATO and "I ragazzi della Roma violenta" in 1976 were loosely based on the terrible crimes of the Circeo massacre.

In 2016, the writer and screenwriter Edoardo ALBINATI, born in 1956 (Il racconto dei racconti by EUROPEAN FILM AWARD winner Matteo GARRONE) published the semi-documentary novel THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL, which immediately became a huge audience and critical success. ALBINATI went to the same school as the three perpetrators at the time of the crime and developed an impressive portrait of Italian society in the 1970s in his novel.

A film adaptation can only do so much justice to such a 1000-page epic. So it happens that the already pretty good film gets a bit bogged down with its cast of excellent young actors. The seasoned actors who embody the parents' generation are much more impressive: Valentina CERVI as a devout Catholic who has to cope with a severe blow of fate; Valeria GOLINO as a wife whose husband discovers his homosexuality; Riccardo SCAMARCIO as the neo-fascist father and finally Jasmine TRINCA as the fading Cinecitta diva who lets her son's school friends sleep with her uninhibitedly. The terrible crime comes somewhat suddenly at the end, but it has a dramatic impact that is certainly not for everyone.

Nevertheless: Despite all its weaknesses, an impressive film that should be seen as a companion material to the countless POLIZIOTTESCHI of Italian cinema in the 1970s. ALBINATI's book is of course even more strongly recommended!

I HATED THIS FILM!!!

[hughman55 · 1/10 · 17 December 2022]

The first 90 minutes of this film is a nonsensical montage of behind the scenes glimpses into the hidden lives of unimportant spoiled rich Italian boys at an all-boys Catholic school. Your entire attention is wasted on trying to figure out why you're being shown this. How is it important to whatever this story is. The answer is: about 5 minutes of this would have been plenty to establish a context for what the final 30 minutes is actually about.

I'd never heard of this crime before. And in this film the final half hour is a horrific ringside seat to the sadistic rape/murder of two young girls. The women are beaten, raped, drugged, and thrown into the trunk of a car. The scum that commit these atrocities parade around naked in between assaults. THIS IS A RAPE/PORN/SNUFF FILM. It is nothing more than that. The writers/director should be ashamed. It is every bit as vile as Funny Games... If you haven't seen that one, it's just like this one only more.

Waaaay too slow

[ansirahka · 4/10 · 30 September 2022]

I dont get whats the point of introducing so many characters when eventually its just about those three, got so bored halfway through the movie i don't even understand where the story is going. Then the plot happens and it was just ok, its just seem pointless. Maybe if i understand the history of the plot it'll be more interesting. Review ends here, rest are just filler words.

In late September 1975, a renowned Catholic school in Rome for sheltered, upper-middle-class boys is attacked in what became known as the Circeo Massacre. The film examines what triggered the violence. In late September 1975, a renowned Catholic school in Rome for sheltered, upper-middle-class boys is attacked in what became known as the Circeo Massacre. The film examines what triggered the violence.

What is this????

[Randomgirl111 · 1/10 · 15 October 2022]

This is probably the most confusing, nonsensical film I've ever watched. I feel like the director wanted to make p.rn for his own personal satisfaction but felt embarrassed to so he just made random scenes that helped excuse such adult content. However, even as an X rated film, IT MAKES NO SENSE. There is no story. The whole film is a compilation of random videos with no consistency with each other. It's like the whole film is having an identity crisis. Also, apparently, this film is supposed to be about a massacre but the massacre aspect wasn't even noticeable. Most of the English dub is OK and the acting is fine but the writing is too broken for me to care...

Not worth the time to take away from you!

[jbmflutist · 3/10 · 12 October 2022]

This movie should have never been made! I agree with all the previous reviews plus! Making this movie for honor to the two girls is embarrassing! This movie really was made for the money!

It was boring, horribly acted, and scarring!! I wouldn't let any child watch this at all! Let the watching be for adults only! Everyone in Italy has sexual problems! Mothers, fathers, students!

I do know this happened not too long after the horrible world war ll, but it's really shocking how these boy's frontal lobes were even half way developed! I'm sure the way they HAVEN't been raised had caused the way the boys acted! But boy was I shocked at how all the girls and women were treated! I swear everyone young were just zombies of stupidity and smelling some kind of humiliation air! But they were not humiliated; they had no humanity towards each other! Each boy needed to be shook and paddled to feel how their actions are making their community rank!

Please stop making these movies for 14+ people! No wonder there are rapes, kidnappings, disrespect for humans in our societies! Copy Cat actions can be tied to these movies that show all what ones can do if they are not right with the world! Yes, we all know about the Catholic Church, we know about how young people are in general, but why spike it up with this horrible example of under developed frontal lobes, poor parenting, and lack of religiosity!

You can see how these horrid actions have a deep history of poor relationships! Parents have terrible backgrounds and really don't care about their children! One thing this movie didn't show was how the town and student body's reactions were!

Gad! I can't believe I watched the whole movie! I can't get those 90 minutes back!

This film is rubbish

[pwalters-43899 · 22 September 2022]

If you are anti Catholic , anti Christian then you will love this film.

It is full of anti catholic cliches and is nonsense.

Truth mixed with fantasy. Watch Dahmer instead for your kicks.

Or find Christ authentically through the Catholic Church.

Americans and many now who are worshipping the Earth are blind, deaf or lost in the world to the message of Christ. Time to wake up and read proper words from the Lord and good interpreters to find joy. Scott Hahn is there for you.

There are many more people who have found the tie path. But don't give up you are Gods work of art you may be saved. Love!

a True crime in Rome Italy

[lalowman · 2/10 · 6 January 2024]

How very sad and pathetic that Netflix added this horrifying brutal rape and murder TRUE crime movie to its list. This movie did not give these two girls justice and the respect they and their families are so deserving of. Why we couldn't have watched the repercussions of these boys being sentenced , the laws back then in much more greater detail and what it was like for the girl who survived her life after ... but instead we had to watch a boys father kissing another guy , boring classroom scenes and very very sad scene of a beautiful little girl died from eating a berry as they were taken a walk. Very sad we didn't see a minute of her death afterwards. If we were take the actions of these criminals being about a catholic all boys school and few boring scenes of their family home life made them who they were it did not. Every thing leading up to the last half hour does nothing but boring and nonsense that simply was not needed. Truly no words to describe the last half hour of this movie. Watching these sociopaths smiling laughing as they raped torture and murdered Pathetic how it was briefly stated "our town was never the same since the same " since the 1975 Circeo massacre How could a I 1200 page book be made into movie that was short and pointless. The victims and their families the residents of the town deserved better and much MORE' about THEM!