Gomorrah (2009), A Crime Masterpiece...

[Ben]

Gomorrah (2009)

Have you seen this movie at Festivals etc?

Looking forward to it...

Organised crime -- gritty and VERY dark and extremely realistic...

Critics are saying that this is a crime
masterpiece.

http://www.gomorrahmovie.co.uk/
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[tha son]

Finished reading the book about a month ago. Downloaded the movie but didn't have the subtitles so I didn't get to check it out. Heard some pretty great stuff and the trailer looked awesome.

Good book though, I would say I got bored at parts but still was into it the whole way through...

[thewire]

I saw this back in December, I thought it was decent. I expected just a little more. Some of the acting was barely passable. Parts of the movie were pretty good, a few really crazy sequences! As in, holy sh*t moments.

[Jake Schuster]

The publisher recently handed me a copy of the book, which I'll read before I see the film. By the way, IFC on demand (Comcast) will be featuring it in a few weeks. (And the lack of acting skills may be due to the fact that some of the "actors" weren't--they were the real thing.)

I expect, because this really is a docudrama exposé, that it wouldn't have beats, structure or setpieces of a straight thriller.

[thewire]

(And the lack of acting skills may be due to the fact that some of the "actors" weren't--they were the real thing.)

I expect, because this really is a docudrama exposé, that it wouldn't have beats, structure or setpieces of a straight thriller.

Right, and solid acting is what you sacrifice by hiring non-actors. There are some five stories in the film, only two are really interesting: the tailor who secretly works to create knockoff fashion dresses and the businessmen involved in illegal dumping of toxic waste. I have the book as well, but haven't read it yet, and I'm sure it's better than the movie. Saw a Q&A with the director and writer, and they said they had a tough time deciding on which stories to film from the many stories in the book.

[Telly]

I watched this a couple months ago and was really hoping for something much more. It was being touted as this huge, gritty masterpiece, the new era of mobster films... not so much. Frankly it was just boring as hell. Some interesting moments but nothing all that memorable. I also had to sit through a torturing 2 hours of a Q&A afterwards with the director. He couldn't speak a lick of English and rambled on forever. He did have a few memorable stories about the filming but it was just as underwhelming as the film pretty much.

[twk69045]

I liked the kids story, one staying with the original outfit and his friend switching to the other side in the war. I loved this film, I wish there would've been another hour or two.

Unfortunately they show one of the best moments in the trailer, when the kid lures the woman outside.

[Ravenlocks]

I expect, because this really is a docudrama exposé, that it wouldn't have beats, structure or setpieces of a straight thriller.
That's pretty much how it seemed to me when I watched it. Five semi-interlocking stories, the crime organization the only real throughline tying them together. Definitely not a straight thriller. And definitely not the future of gangster movies. It's too true-to-life for that. I did find it compelling, though, not least because I knew what I was seeing on the screen was only thinly fictionalized. Pretty much killed my desire to visit the south of Italy.

I caught a Q&A as well (I wonder how many of us were at the same screening) and found some of the director's and cowriter's stories about the shoot fascinating. Again, a lot of it was the "this stuff is really happening" factor.

Luckily I hadn't seen the trailer, so the part with the kid and the woman had the intended impact on me.

[Gillyflower Cooms]

I kept dozing off through it...some good stuff here and there but no crime masterpiece IMHO.

[thewire]

I kept dozing off through it...some good stuff here and there but no crime masterpiece IMHO.

Agreed, not a crime masterpiece. A crime film with a few good things here and there, that's about it.

The seats weren't all that comfortable, and bad air conditioning didn't help. :|

Saw the Q&A in Century City in December. If you left the session early your parking wasn't going to get validated. :mad:

[Ravenlocks]

Saw the Q&A in Century City in December. If you left the session early your parking wasn't going to get validated. :mad:
I was there. I don't remember the bad AC, though, just the bored young guy at the front desk handing out validations at 10:30pm.

[ScriptShadow]

Ben, is anything ever just "okay" with you? Why does it have to be a masterpiece?

[Terrance Mulloy]

Ben, is anything ever just "okay" with you? Why does it have to be a masterpiece?

Hey leave hime alone, man. He's high on life, y'know.

:|







lol.

[koquerelle]

I thought it was exactly like the book: all over the place

[dog678]

i have to agree... i went in hoping to see a good film, but im sorry to say, it sucks... i can think of about 500+ movies that are better than this one and im a huge fan of real, gritty stories true to life, and i was bored to death. it tried soo hard to be a 3-4 hour long Sopranos saga, but 30min of a good Sopranos episode trumps this film in a heartbeat... remember the episode when they go to italy? that hour episode is 100x better than this movie...i'd much rather watch the real documentaries of the new mafia in italy, those are way more entertaining and informative.

[Gillyflower Cooms]

Agree 100%. The worst episode of Sporanos was better than this...Wonder why it's so overrated? What are the critics seeing that all of us seem to be blind to?

[Jake Schuster]

Again, I haven't seen the movie, but I know a good deal about the background to it (and was asked to sign a petition on the author's behalf, as he's living under a death threat). As this is more or less a documentary in the way "The Battle for Algiers" by Pontecorvo was, it really can't be judged in the same way you'd assess a "Sopranos" episode, or "The Godfather".

This is a series of true stories, and thus is meant to serve as an exposé of something that is taking place in Italy right now. I haven't seen any publicity or press material that says differently.

[Telly]

As this is more or less a documentary in the way "The Battle for Algiers" by Pontecorvo was,

Then maybe they should have shot a documentary and not a poorly made narrative film.

[Jake Schuster]

It's tough to hire a bunch of murderers still wanted by the police, you know. Much easier to get actors to play them.

Rotten Tomatoes has this at something like a 98% positive rating. I'll see it next week.

[qualitycontrol]

Then maybe they should have shot a documentary and not a poorly made narrative film.

Battle of Algiers is great.

[Jake Schuster]

And in "Battle of Algiers" (made some time after the events portrayed), Pontecorvo was actually able to use the leader of the uprising to portray himself. "Gomorrah"'s events are very current; enough for there to be a death sentence over Saviano's head.

[twk69045]

So current that one of the films actors was arrested for extorting protection money after the movie was made.

[Jake Schuster]

Yes, I saw that, twk!

[Norm]

Guys,

This Ben is a sham, and I could say more.

Just look at his juvey tone and insincerity. What a travesty.

I bet you 10 to 1 he is the same poseur who has been polluting Moviebytes these last few years under names such as "Ben Lanyc" and another Ben with an East Indian-like name.

I wish these moderators would block these people for the simple reason that they bump good Replies with their nonsense.

BTW, moderators, you can learn his IP address and see if it matches other nuisance posters. I don't know if other sites will cooperate and provide the IP address, but it is a sure-fire way to determine if in fact these Threads and Replies come from the same puerile source.

Wasn't he the one a few months back posting about "first sale" big bucks things, sounding willfully like a newbie? I would not be surprised if it turns out that he works at a studio and is collecting material for a site to make fun of people who take his posts seriously, like that one that publishes query letters.

I am constantly amazed that people -- or should I say fools? -- at Moviebtyes especially respond to his most outlandish posts. If some of these people cannot tell the difference between reality and pseudo reality, well, you can understand if they never are heard of beyond Moviebytes.

Can we unite over this?

Thank you.

N

[Jake Schuster]

I don't see what's outlandish about his post on this thread. He's simply mentioning that this film is opening:

Gomorrah (2009)

Have you seen this movie at Festivals etc?

Looking forward to it...

Organised crime -- gritty and VERY dark and extremely realistic...

Critics are saying that this is a crime
masterpiece.

[zenplato]

BTW, moderators, you can learn his IP address and see if it matches other nuisance posters. I don't know if other sites will cooperate and provide the IP address, but it is a sure-fire way to determine if in fact these Threads and Replies come from the same puerile source.

That's a waste of time. He could use a proxy, not to mention most users don't have static IP's (it's called DHCP). Then you could end up blocking a range of IP's and ban legitimate users. Or, he could have a laptop and go to a completely different network. That's not going to save you...

IP banning works if the person they are banning is clueless, but if they are clever, it's just a speed bump. Might as well use email addresses and cookies as well.

I get the feeling the mods know what there doing.

[Ben]

Hey folks,

I don't think I'm doing anything wrong.

Hey, movies and screenwriting -- its
exciting stuff.

Okay I'll tone down my posts.

Okay I apologize if I sounded
outlandish.

Hey, if folks want me to leave,
I'll leave.

What should I do?
,
,
,
,

[zenplato]

Hey folks,

I don't think I'm doing anything wrong.

Hey, movies and screenwriting -- its
exciting stuff.

Okay I'll tone down my posts.

Okay I apologize if I sounded
outlandish.

Hey, if folks want me to leave,
I'll leave.

What should I do?
,
,
,
,

Ben, I don't want you to leave, I was just saying his idea was not very practical and that mods have it under control.

Free country and a free forum.

I vote stay. If people have a problem with you, that's their problem not yours. I believe there is this thing called "ignore" that anyone can use.

Unless your banned, then keep posting, but with smaller subject titles please, :)

[Pasquali56]

Congress will have a vote over the weekend and get back to you, Ben. Sorry to say, it doesn't look good for you right now. Barney Frank is the only one in your corner.