IFF MOVIE REVIEW: BLACK SOULS (ANIME NERE)




31/2/5

Once upon a time there were three brothers, two were evil one was good. The evil brothers were in the mafia, smuggling drugs and living as riches. The good brother was a shepherd and lived peacefully in their family home. The good brother had a son, who wanted to be a gangster too. Will his decision lead to the family's undoing?

BLACK SOULS has a set up of a dark fairy tale, but the film produced has authentic and raw feel about it.  While the story plays out as classic tragedy, the value of the film is in the details. We get a clear idea how close this mafioso family is to their roots and of their values and lifestyle. The settings stripped of glamour, with most of the film taking place in a remote village - a family home of the characters. There's nothing new in the basic ideas of the film: Violence gives birth to violence, the sins of the fathers are carried on by their sons. There's also some dwellings about fate and that only the most radical ways can change it.

It was clear from the beginning that things will not end well for any of the characters, but nothing would prepare you for the sudden and shocking ending.

BLACK SOULS is based on a novel by an Italian author Gioacchino Criaco, and it is easy to understand why it was put into film - interesting characters and rich settings are perfect for a big screen.

Cinematography is tense, with a few scenes of gun violence, it slowly prepares you for outcome and gives you this "sinking" feeling that something terrible is about to happen.

The soundtrack is rather different from what we see in modern Hollywood films, with large symphonic pieces on display uninterrupted, but then the orchestra is silent for the majority of the film.

BLACK SOULS does not carry many original ideas but succeeds as a family drama, because of its memorable characters, beautiful countryside settings and attention to detail.

 

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