I was surprised the ratings weren't higher. This is better than almost every modern Italian gangster movie. The acting is amazing and direction is very good. Paced very well. Nothing that unique in terms of plot but executed extremely well.
27 Reviews
The youth of Naples
ssjsolidsnake23 October 2019
I have a lot of friends from Naples and they said this movie depicts the reality of the situation of the youth in Naples today.
You follow the story of one boy with his friends who tries to make ends meet while they dont go to school and easily succumb to the ways of the Mafia for easy money. It's really sad.
The movie is well made and well paced, you keep asking yourself what are they going do to next and how is this going to end.
The love story dragged on a little bit but otherwise its a good watch that I would recommend.
Almost all true
lallo-27 December 2019
Unfortunately the stories depicted on this movie are true or based on facts that really and daily happen in Naples.
It's another world if you compare with the rest of Italy. It's the devil place.
The movie is well done and the actors are good. But it's pity to see these things.
Watch it and then judge with your eyes.
It's another world if you compare with the rest of Italy. It's the devil place.
The movie is well done and the actors are good. But it's pity to see these things.
Watch it and then judge with your eyes.
Live for today !
valleyjohn16 October 2020
The popularity of Italian language gang movies and TV shows has risen to high level in recent years and we have Gomorrah and Suburra to thank for that and while Piranhas isn't quite up to their standards, it's still an interesting look at the underclasses in Napoli .
Six 15-year-old boys deal drugs and use assault rifles to rule their neighborhood in Naples, interested only in making money, wearing designer clothes and surviving in a world where they believe they have no future.
There isn't much of a story in this film . It flows like the boys lives . Without a care . The kids live for today and that's the way the movie is made . Not a great deal of structure but plenty of spontaneity. They probably know things are never going to turn out well but they are going to enjoy it while they can .
Exactly as it did watching it .
Six 15-year-old boys deal drugs and use assault rifles to rule their neighborhood in Naples, interested only in making money, wearing designer clothes and surviving in a world where they believe they have no future.
There isn't much of a story in this film . It flows like the boys lives . Without a care . The kids live for today and that's the way the movie is made . Not a great deal of structure but plenty of spontaneity. They probably know things are never going to turn out well but they are going to enjoy it while they can .
Exactly as it did watching it .
Nature abhors a vacuum
FrenchEddieFelson9 June 2019
This afternoon, I discovered this rather interesting film without having preliminary read the eponymous book written by Roberto Saviano and published in 2018: a band of eight teenage boys still eating chocolate cookies and arguing with the little brother when a packet of biscuits was emptied without their preliminary agreement, take opportunely advantage of the fall of the Mafioso of their Neapolitan district to become caliph instead of the caliph, like Iznogoud in the famous cartoon created by René Goscinny and Jean Tabary, but with ethics and values like Vito Corleone played by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II (1974). I recognized the mesmerizing atmosphere of Naples, with its manifold alleys as hilly as lively. Moreover, the cast is overall of high quality, especially the main actor Francesco Di Napoli.
Dry and unfaithful adaptation
Come-and-Review21 February 2019
I don't think that books are automatically better than their movie adaptations, but this is clearly the case: not only a lot of changes were made but the general meaning of the story was subverted, delivering a faded, less thought-provoking message.
Saviano penned both the screenplay and the novel, but he and the other writers choose to omit the violent scenes, include several scenes that did not occur in the novel, and change the personality of the main character.
In the movie, Nicholas is a teenager who essentially dreams about making mafia "great again", and is portrayed as having a sense of justice and being essentially a good boy who did terrible decisions. The violence is limited to a few gunshots, and the meaning of the ending focuses on the impossibility of change.
In the novel, Nicolas is immediately portrayed as a power-thirsty teenager who was inspired by Machiavelli and that has no ethics whatsoever (e.g., mild spoilers, to give an idea: to punish a gang member for having stolen a gun without permission, he almost forces his sister to be gang raped; the movie version of the character would have never done this). The violence is brutal and striking, and the story aims at describing the inner evil that teenagers that are involved with the System experience because of the environment they live in.
I personally felt much more invested while reading the novel than while watching the movie. Except for one specific scene that was the only identical one to the novel, most of the sequences felt dry or non-authentic. For who knows the novel, I think it is impossible to appreciate the film. Technically wise, it felt very similar to Garrone's Gomorra, probably it aimed at replicating the feel of that movie, but while the distanced photography and dryness of sequences in Gomorra gave a "tranche de vie" feel, it is not the case for La Paranza dei Bambini. It is sad that this film was chosen to be ran at Berlinale, when Italy has just released Il Primo Re, a masterful and very creative work of art that risks not receiving well-deserved international recognition.
Saviano penned both the screenplay and the novel, but he and the other writers choose to omit the violent scenes, include several scenes that did not occur in the novel, and change the personality of the main character.
In the movie, Nicholas is a teenager who essentially dreams about making mafia "great again", and is portrayed as having a sense of justice and being essentially a good boy who did terrible decisions. The violence is limited to a few gunshots, and the meaning of the ending focuses on the impossibility of change.
In the novel, Nicolas is immediately portrayed as a power-thirsty teenager who was inspired by Machiavelli and that has no ethics whatsoever (e.g., mild spoilers, to give an idea: to punish a gang member for having stolen a gun without permission, he almost forces his sister to be gang raped; the movie version of the character would have never done this). The violence is brutal and striking, and the story aims at describing the inner evil that teenagers that are involved with the System experience because of the environment they live in.
I personally felt much more invested while reading the novel than while watching the movie. Except for one specific scene that was the only identical one to the novel, most of the sequences felt dry or non-authentic. For who knows the novel, I think it is impossible to appreciate the film. Technically wise, it felt very similar to Garrone's Gomorra, probably it aimed at replicating the feel of that movie, but while the distanced photography and dryness of sequences in Gomorra gave a "tranche de vie" feel, it is not the case for La Paranza dei Bambini. It is sad that this film was chosen to be ran at Berlinale, when Italy has just released Il Primo Re, a masterful and very creative work of art that risks not receiving well-deserved international recognition.
Gomorra: The Next Generation
bastos22 September 2020
Good movie about the life of a very young gang that morphs into the new generation of the mob. It's directed very dryly which adds to the realism, but it falls into some of the usual tropes of mob movies. Solid performances throughout.
City of Kids
kosmasp22 January 2021
Now I'm not comparing this to City of God, just to be clear. I just like coming up with nice summary/pun lines. Connections can be made to a degree of course, but they can stop at the fact that you have kids and criminality as subject mater here. Having said that, the movie may feel slow to some. But it is quite impactful nonetheless. Not to mention that the style (in your face, the actors faces that is) is quite harrowing. It really puts you in the middle of it.
You may disagree with certain things, like the one central female character being swayed by macho and bully behavior ("male" king of the jungle style), but don't forget what world they all grew up in. So this is as authentic (or at least feels like it) as it gets. And the dialog (which may or may not be a bit improvised - otherwise kudos to the actors for conveying their emotions in such manner) is just on the spot! If you are into these types of movies, you'll rejoice and be "entertained". Otherwise maybe you'd like to stay away from this
You may disagree with certain things, like the one central female character being swayed by macho and bully behavior ("male" king of the jungle style), but don't forget what world they all grew up in. So this is as authentic (or at least feels like it) as it gets. And the dialog (which may or may not be a bit improvised - otherwise kudos to the actors for conveying their emotions in such manner) is just on the spot! If you are into these types of movies, you'll rejoice and be "entertained". Otherwise maybe you'd like to stay away from this
Where are the young boys of Naples headed, without a parent or a career to look forward to?
JuguAbraham26 July 2019
The film evidently won the screenplay award at Berlin because it is very true to ground reality of Naples. The title is appropriate. Teenagers who cannot see a future, become small time Godfathers, collecting protection money and selling drugs, working in large groups to get a menacing visibility. My problem with the film: where are the cops? You see them just once during a wedding dinner sequence.
The film apparently uses non-actors. The lead role of Nicola played by Francesco di Napoli is notable, as is the role of his screen mother toiling away to make ends meet. Nicola's dad is never shown or discussed. Francesco could go places as an actor under the right director.
Average film--nothing great
The film apparently uses non-actors. The lead role of Nicola played by Francesco di Napoli is notable, as is the role of his screen mother toiling away to make ends meet. Nicola's dad is never shown or discussed. Francesco could go places as an actor under the right director.
Average film--nothing great
no extraordinary movie but worth watching
bailoukova16 September 2019
Even though the acting was really good, the movie did not establish any emotional ties towards the characters on screen. Instead of concentrating on the evolvement of the characters, the film focuses more on the plot. Considering that I found the storyline rather predictable and pressed into a typical screenwriting-scheme, it did not catch me nor it surprised me.
The movie was shot quite close. Most of the time you see a range of close shots and close-ups which I found quite restricting in the beginning but I got used to it after a while and by the end of the movie I appreciated the artistic aspect of this choice of filming.
For me personally this movie does not dig deep enough beyond the surface to be more than average and to leave a lasting memory in my mind. But it definitely has some good moments, so if you get the chance to watch it, do so.
The movie was shot quite close. Most of the time you see a range of close shots and close-ups which I found quite restricting in the beginning but I got used to it after a while and by the end of the movie I appreciated the artistic aspect of this choice of filming.
For me personally this movie does not dig deep enough beyond the surface to be more than average and to leave a lasting memory in my mind. But it definitely has some good moments, so if you get the chance to watch it, do so.
Expected nothing, what a surprise.
hoodsfinest-7837721 January 2021
Didn't even watched a trailer before so my expectations were very low. Actually a really decent mafia flick even though this movie is about the younger generation in Naples. Story developed very well, pacing was also good. Never felt even slightly bored in 2 hours. Oh and the actors did a great job despite they're basically "NoNames". Overall a real hidden gem of a movie.
(I didnt liked the ending that much so it's not a 10 for me)
I'm hyped to see more of Claudio Giovannesi in the future. 8.5/10
I'm hyped to see more of Claudio Giovannesi in the future. 8.5/10
Successors of the Napoli mafia
thenextrushmagazine7 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
The story charts the controversial rise of a gang of Neapolitan youngsters - known as the paranza - who were originally recruited to act as hitmen by the Camorra. Fifteen years old fearless boys with innocent nicknames, branded shoes, normal families, names of girlfriends tattooed on their skin, no trust in school or institutions. Teenagers with no tomorrow, no hope, not afraid of jail nor death. Their only chance is to bet on everything they possess right now. If they want money, they need to go out and get it. They go off on their scooters, take over the drug market, shoot satellite antennas, defy the godfathers of Naples, spread terror and fear in the city's streets.
These power-hungry adolescents are as trigger happy with a real AK-47 as they are on their PlayStations. Paranza is a term that belongs to the sea: fishing boats with lights tricking small fishes with no hope to survive. This is a tale of kids darting through life, through adolescences "tricked by light" as a paranza. Saviano enters relentlessly in this reality of today, opening and shading light over it with a wonderful tale of innocence and subjugation.
La Paranza dei Bambini (Piranhas) is Claudio Giovannesi's film adaptation of Robert Saviano Gomorrah's bestseller. Ambitious, charismatic 15-year-old Nicola and his mates go from being petty thieves to gun-toting gangsters virtually overnight.
As the gangs' older generations are locked away in prison, the gangsters become younger and younger. The baby-faced protagonists struggle with family, peer pressure and romance, all while swaggering haplessly into a bloody war to control their streets. With almost anthropological detail about the boys' lives, fashions and tragically macho rituals, the film nods at genre classics like City of God and Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, while staking out its own complex, thrilling territory.
Nicola and his friends are fifteen years old. They want to make money, buy cool clothes and brand new scooters. They play with weapons and ride around the city to take power in the district of Sanità. With the illusion of bringing justice to the neighborhood, they chase good through evil. They love each other like brothers, they don't fear prison nor death, knowing their only chance is to risk everything, now. They experience war with the irresponsibility of adolescence, but their criminal activities soon lead them to the irreversible sacrifice of love and friendship.
La Paranza dei Bambini (Piranhas) tells of the relationship between adolescence and the criminal lifestyle: the impossibility of experiencing the more important feelings of adolescence, love and friendship, in a life of crime. The film shows how a fifteen year old and his friends of the same age lose their innocence. The decision by the protagonist, Nicola, to pursue a criminal lifestyle slowly becomes irreversible and all- consuming, requiring the sacrifice of his first love and of friendship.
la-paranza-1024x391Experiencing the basic feelings of adolescence in the context of a criminal lifestyle is not possible: the need to do so comes forcefully to the fore in the protagonist, but can no longer be satisfied. Although the path to the underworld is not an innate desire in youngsters, arising as a consequence of widespread illegality, the film does not wish to represent a sociological point of view. Claudio Giovannesi chooses the point of view of the youngsters, without judging them, and show their adolescent feelings in relation to the criminal lifestyle and the ambition of power: the narration of the criminal arc is always in relation to the story of their emotions, the friendships and loves that are destined to fail precisely because of the criminal lifestyle.
Despite the protagonists being fifteen years of age, they are forced into a daily relationship with death, viewing it as a very real possibility: they experience the ambition of conquest and choose war irresponsibly. The youngster's desire for power also hides the naive paradox, typical of their age, of wanting to do good through evil: the dream of a just power, the illusion of an ethical crime syndicate. Children kill fathers, replace them, and, in order to do so, are forced to shorten the time of their development, to sacrifice carelessness, to consider death or jail as very real and daily possibilities.
These power-hungry adolescents are as trigger happy with a real AK-47 as they are on their PlayStations. Paranza is a term that belongs to the sea: fishing boats with lights tricking small fishes with no hope to survive. This is a tale of kids darting through life, through adolescences "tricked by light" as a paranza. Saviano enters relentlessly in this reality of today, opening and shading light over it with a wonderful tale of innocence and subjugation.
La Paranza dei Bambini (Piranhas) is Claudio Giovannesi's film adaptation of Robert Saviano Gomorrah's bestseller. Ambitious, charismatic 15-year-old Nicola and his mates go from being petty thieves to gun-toting gangsters virtually overnight.
As the gangs' older generations are locked away in prison, the gangsters become younger and younger. The baby-faced protagonists struggle with family, peer pressure and romance, all while swaggering haplessly into a bloody war to control their streets. With almost anthropological detail about the boys' lives, fashions and tragically macho rituals, the film nods at genre classics like City of God and Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, while staking out its own complex, thrilling territory.
Nicola and his friends are fifteen years old. They want to make money, buy cool clothes and brand new scooters. They play with weapons and ride around the city to take power in the district of Sanità. With the illusion of bringing justice to the neighborhood, they chase good through evil. They love each other like brothers, they don't fear prison nor death, knowing their only chance is to risk everything, now. They experience war with the irresponsibility of adolescence, but their criminal activities soon lead them to the irreversible sacrifice of love and friendship.
La Paranza dei Bambini (Piranhas) tells of the relationship between adolescence and the criminal lifestyle: the impossibility of experiencing the more important feelings of adolescence, love and friendship, in a life of crime. The film shows how a fifteen year old and his friends of the same age lose their innocence. The decision by the protagonist, Nicola, to pursue a criminal lifestyle slowly becomes irreversible and all- consuming, requiring the sacrifice of his first love and of friendship.
la-paranza-1024x391Experiencing the basic feelings of adolescence in the context of a criminal lifestyle is not possible: the need to do so comes forcefully to the fore in the protagonist, but can no longer be satisfied. Although the path to the underworld is not an innate desire in youngsters, arising as a consequence of widespread illegality, the film does not wish to represent a sociological point of view. Claudio Giovannesi chooses the point of view of the youngsters, without judging them, and show their adolescent feelings in relation to the criminal lifestyle and the ambition of power: the narration of the criminal arc is always in relation to the story of their emotions, the friendships and loves that are destined to fail precisely because of the criminal lifestyle.
Despite the protagonists being fifteen years of age, they are forced into a daily relationship with death, viewing it as a very real possibility: they experience the ambition of conquest and choose war irresponsibly. The youngster's desire for power also hides the naive paradox, typical of their age, of wanting to do good through evil: the dream of a just power, the illusion of an ethical crime syndicate. Children kill fathers, replace them, and, in order to do so, are forced to shorten the time of their development, to sacrifice carelessness, to consider death or jail as very real and daily possibilities.
Stupid
katari249 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I absolutely loved Gomorrah series which felt very real and everything about it was just top class, the acting, the storyline.. this was just a lot of BS with no ending on top of it. I was waiting all the movie for someone to finally sort these little idiots out and unfortunately i didn't get that.
Good film, but Italian cinema is producing far too many Mafia-related films
adrian-4376719 June 2019
Warning: Spoilers
LA PARANZA DEI BAMBINI, based on an eponymous book by Roberto Saviano, is a good film. It is credible, direction is competent and assured, acting is of the highest order - especially by young lead Francesco di Napoli - but ultimately it is yet another Mafia-related flick, like so many Italian cinema has produced since the start of the new millennium, including SUBURRA, GOMORRA, ANIME NERE, and TV series like GOMORRA.
Despite its obvious quality, we have seen it all before. It has a good message, too: the young criminal played by di Napoli ends the film knowing that he is in a straightjacket, that the death of his kid brother is just the start of his own end. It is as inevitable as fate dictated by the gods of ancient Greece. In fact, an old man tells di Napoli and his crew early on that they were heading for a tragic end.
I left the moviehouse feeling that a marvelous country like Italy, with its unique culture, cinema, music and incredible natural beauty is also in a straightjacket made by the Mafia, Camorra, Cosa Nostra, Ndrangheta, etc.
The greater mankind's loss.
Despite its obvious quality, we have seen it all before. It has a good message, too: the young criminal played by di Napoli ends the film knowing that he is in a straightjacket, that the death of his kid brother is just the start of his own end. It is as inevitable as fate dictated by the gods of ancient Greece. In fact, an old man tells di Napoli and his crew early on that they were heading for a tragic end.
I left the moviehouse feeling that a marvelous country like Italy, with its unique culture, cinema, music and incredible natural beauty is also in a straightjacket made by the Mafia, Camorra, Cosa Nostra, Ndrangheta, etc.
The greater mankind's loss.
Fierce, fast yet not fully convincing
sarahbesic-0684212 August 2019
One thing first: I did not read the underlying book by Roberto Saviano. In that sense, at best, I did not bring a lofty expectation of a proper implementation of a literary material, but could dedicate myself openly to the screening of the film.
However, this endeavor became more difficult as a result of the film being awarded the Silver Bear for best screenplay at this year's Berlin International Film Festival. Such an award, which honored the shared work of the books author and the director, raises the bar quite high for the viewer. Additionally, the plots 'Mafia' topic couldn't be called to be among my preferred areas of interest.
Concerning the genre this full-length motion picture for sure can be counted to the crime films, but is due to its content course also to be regarded as a drama.
The storyline follows the experiences of a group of young people in the Naples of the present time and is located in an inner city setting between latent poverty, educational backwardness, archaic local power structures, violent conflict resolutions, ambition, high risk-taking and naive carelessness. The film does not approach this social subdivision gently and piece by piece, but establishes a narrative perspective that seems to originate from it and at the same time allows it to unfold in the eyes of the audience. This dramaturgical gimmick guarantees a high action dynamic from the beginning on, which is also captured by a frequent use of a shaky hand camera. During 110 entertaining minutes, authentic realities of life are touched upon, their points of contact representing the knots in the network of the storyline. The viewer is repeatedly put into pictures whose brute emotionality leaves at best astonishment, but rather bewilderment. However, this really powerful dramaturgy is at the same time the disadvantageous flip side of this coin: trying to bring such a complex social structure with different characters in just over one and a half hours on the canvas, the film is overstrained and woody in places. The predominantly young actors play lifelike and fresh, however, I came to the supposition that the German dubbing of the southern Italian language reflects the original habitus only inadequately and thus the parzivalous briskness of the young Machos supposedly might not convincingly be intoned. Open and obvious questions remain unanswered sometimes, while on the other hand unexpected insights into the mental state of individual protagonists arouse sympathy and understanding. The predominantly established closeups support this personal closeness and dares only to a full shot or a half-total, if the larger spatial context are able to reflect the individual inner conflicts and forsakeness. The escape, pursuit and fun tours captured in rapid motorcycle rides through the labyrinthine road network of the chaotic metropolis, alternately in a pursuing or preceding axis of vision, can also be seen as a metaphor for the wild, inner search for orientation, belonging and meaning. Unfortunately the soundtrack loses almost completely in front of the background of all these rapidly flooding images, despie the fact that the individual music pieces basically support the situations in principle well.
All in all, a worth watching movie, with perceptible weaknesses, but entertaining as a cutting-edge social study. It's like a flickering spotlight on a strange and yet so close world.
The view fron the ground up
paul2001sw-126 August 2021
Roberto Saviano, author of 'Gomorrah', the definitive book on the Neapolitan mafia, and contributor to previous films and television series, is one of the writers of Claudio Giovennesi's film 'Piranhas'. The film's distinguishing feature it that it focuses not on the godfathers at the top of the organisation, but on the kids who get sucked into the mafia life. It's believable and doesn't glamourise the world at all, but as a movie, it lacks a certain drama, perhaps because of how what goes wrong feels both inevitable and accidental at the same time. I'd still recommend watching it, but the ending underwhelms. Maybe you need a touch of the grand operatic style that characterised 'The Godfather', and indeed the television series of 'Gomorrah', to truly pack that dramatic punch.
An erosion of self.
W011y4m512 February 2023
Director Claudio Giovannesi cleverly takes a fairly predictable story (with an instantly foreseeable trajectory) from a well-known genre (crime thrillers, chronicling working class / financially unstable people's economic desperation & tragic recruitment in to exploitative criminal gangs - under the pretence of working to gain a better life, respect within their local communities & security - resulting in subsequent struggles, merely attempting - & often failing - to exist within the dark underbelly of the lawless reality in which they operate) & finds a new, interesting way to subvert the usual tropes by following events through the eyes of children who've thoughtlessly become participants in other people's petty territorial disputes (in truth, naive minors - desensitised to the wrongs they've witnessed around them during their infancy, oblivious to reality - in a cautionary coming-of-age tale, going through puberty & navigating their way through an adult's world where they're totally out of their depth & lacking the self awareness to understand the unavoidable ramifications of their actions) - weaponising our expectations against us by portraying these familiar events (we've seen countless times before) that feel far more grim & foreboding... Because the violence unfolding is predominantly involving teenagers, encouraged (by those who should know better) to tribally war against each other (out of some misplaced sense of performative masculinity, desire to impress friends & remain "cool" - trivial, juvenile pursuits - indicative of their lack of maturity & perspective), spilling blood down the streets of Naples & continuing the cycle of aggression (pawns in a game being played at a much higher level they're able to comprehend), consequently wasting their youth for the sake of someone else's betterment.
Hence, "Pirahnas" is a really uncomfortable & yet profoundly fascinating watch (seamlessly conveying the ease in which one can be carelessly swept up in to the cracks in a system that's failed them - failures which are capitalised on by predators with malicious intent), unoriginal in content & yet still extremely effective in capturing the depressing, preventable corruption of innocence. Therefore, worthwhile to see, in spite of the macabre subject matter.
Hence, "Pirahnas" is a really uncomfortable & yet profoundly fascinating watch (seamlessly conveying the ease in which one can be carelessly swept up in to the cracks in a system that's failed them - failures which are capitalised on by predators with malicious intent), unoriginal in content & yet still extremely effective in capturing the depressing, preventable corruption of innocence. Therefore, worthwhile to see, in spite of the macabre subject matter.
freshly shot
mishajazz23 November 2020
Paranza means "small fry"
symmachos4 May 2022
This movie is fast-moving and superficially entertaining, but despite an appealing cast and great photography, it doesn't offer much in the way of character, story, or insight into the reality it depicts. Like many viewers I watched it after digesting Romanzo Criminale (the TV series), Gomorra (the TV series), and Suburra: Blood on Rome. However, "Paranza dei Bambini" (original title) suffers from comparison with any of those excellent series.
Of course, as a standalone film, Paranza can't match those series for depth or scope, but I did expect a much harder look at the main characters and especially the consequences of their actions. Sadly, I was disappointed.
A 15-year-old boy named Nicola embarks on a life of crime so that he and his poor but hardworking mother can have nice things. Despite a few setbacks, he's amazingly successful in a very short span of time. The editing of the film leaves out all transitions, so you really have to stay on your toes in order to follow the rather implausible sequence of events. (For example, I was baffled by how quickly Nicola became a "frate" of the heir of the Striane gang, as well as how quickly the two of them fell out -- what made them such fast friends? Why couldn't they reconcile?)
Oddly enough, none of the audacious crimes Nicola commits seem to bite back at him very seriously until about 2 hours into the film, when somebody gets fatally shot. But that potentially dramatic scene is presented in a rush -- I had to rewind to be sure which character actually went down -- and the director purposely seemed to avoid evoking any pathos or sympathy.
And then, as many others have written, the movie just ends without any clear resolution. I felt cheated.
(Postscript: This movie is not about the Mafia. It's about the Comorra. Pay attention, guagliu -- the setting is Napoli, not Sicilia.)
Of course, as a standalone film, Paranza can't match those series for depth or scope, but I did expect a much harder look at the main characters and especially the consequences of their actions. Sadly, I was disappointed.
A 15-year-old boy named Nicola embarks on a life of crime so that he and his poor but hardworking mother can have nice things. Despite a few setbacks, he's amazingly successful in a very short span of time. The editing of the film leaves out all transitions, so you really have to stay on your toes in order to follow the rather implausible sequence of events. (For example, I was baffled by how quickly Nicola became a "frate" of the heir of the Striane gang, as well as how quickly the two of them fell out -- what made them such fast friends? Why couldn't they reconcile?)
Oddly enough, none of the audacious crimes Nicola commits seem to bite back at him very seriously until about 2 hours into the film, when somebody gets fatally shot. But that potentially dramatic scene is presented in a rush -- I had to rewind to be sure which character actually went down -- and the director purposely seemed to avoid evoking any pathos or sympathy.
And then, as many others have written, the movie just ends without any clear resolution. I felt cheated.
(Postscript: This movie is not about the Mafia. It's about the Comorra. Pay attention, guagliu -- the setting is Napoli, not Sicilia.)
Zuppa di pesce
frukuk12 November 2021
I found this very hard to take seriously. There's no real dramatic tension as things just seem to progress super smoothly: the boys who wish to have lots of money, very quickly and easily get lots of money. Where are the difficulties to be overcome? Where is any significant sign of consequences?
good
valentinionut6 December 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Its a minimalistic miz en scene of the today drug turf small war but big in crimes.
we see a young man underaged feeling cocky and wanting the easy money he knows are there. his gang rides on ,,vespas,, and goes frantic about money, influence and respect, fooling themselves into a violent and short existence. we get only to see the begining.
must see. (for what comes next you could see ,, Romanzo criminale,,. one 9f the best serie in genre)
Disappointed
danielcereto16 March 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I really love all Saviano's work but I was pretty dissapointed by this movie. Usually Saviano's work as ZeroZeroZero series or Gomorrah are raw, brutal, cruel and realistic. But here we have a bunch of kids in a bland movie with almost no violence or any great acting. A shame, because the movie has potential. To add, the movie's ending is a joke.
Very Realistic
mb-330871 September 2021
A very realistic film, nice pace, down to earth with no flashy actions. Well acted and one can feel for the situation these youngsters are in and what they need to do to just survive. A long road to perdition eventually, unfortunately.
Too much going on
Gogiovski22 September 2021
The beginning was quite nice to watch, but after a certain point the film becomes a long sequence of actions which don't have their consequences. I had and still have 1 million unanswered questions about certain characters, events which happened in the film and relations in between them.
It was a nice try to portret the gangster life in Napels, but i think they wanted to show too much, which lead to a non profound film on all levels. Feels like a big missed opportunity.
The ending was super frustrating, i just watched the credits out of despite. You can end a film pessimistically, but at least end your story. It felt like the film ended midway, just way too many loose ends!
It's worth a watch but this film probably will disappear in my dusty memories as "one of those films you once watched and then never looked back to".
It was a nice try to portret the gangster life in Napels, but i think they wanted to show too much, which lead to a non profound film on all levels. Feels like a big missed opportunity.
The ending was super frustrating, i just watched the credits out of despite. You can end a film pessimistically, but at least end your story. It felt like the film ended midway, just way too many loose ends!
It's worth a watch but this film probably will disappear in my dusty memories as "one of those films you once watched and then never looked back to".
Chaotic, disjointed and confusing
qui_j28 May 2020
This follows a group of unemployed youth around Naples as they become entrenched in Mafia business. You get the theme and the message but the movie is just a series of disjointed, unconnected scenes that is intended to show the chaotic and unstable lifestyle of these miscreants. A few scenes like that would get the same message across, a whole movie made like that becomes tiresome about midway through the film. Kind of silly and a bit of a waste of time to watch!
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