By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2 cats
Director: Daniele Cipri
Starring: Alfredo Castro | Aurora Quattrocchi | Giselda Volodi | Guiseppe Vitale | Toni Servillo
Original language title: È stato il figlio
Country: italy
Year: 2013
Running time: 90
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1891788/combined
Bruce says: “The film opens with Busu, a disheveled man in an institutional waiting room, talking to anyone who will listen. It seems he has a story to tell and at first it is impossible to know how he fits into the film. He is telling a story about a boy who, for a scratch on a car, killed his father.
“The Ciraulo family is poor but otherwise unremarkable – Nicola (Toni Servillo), the father; Loredana (Giselda Volodi), the mother; Tancredo (Fabrizio Falco) the son; and Serenella (Aurora Quattrocchi), the daughter. The kids argue; the father never spends nough time with the rest of the family. While on vacation, the daughter gets caught in the crossfire of a gang shootout. Despondent, the family gets a boost when they learn they may be eligible for a huge compensation from the state as a family of a crime victim.
“Nicola is a buffoon. His gestures are exaggerated and his interactions with others, idiotic. He is a mechanic and wants his son to join him. Tancredi has no interest in working with his father. Tancredi’s maternal grandparents live with the Ciraulos and are not given much of a voice in daily affairs. Nicola treats them as parasites.
“After much red tape, a claim is filed for the crime victim compensation. The local merchants, all aware of the newfound Ciraulo family fortune, begin extending credit; and, because of the credit, Loredana buys more and more extravagantly. The Italian bureaucracy, however, moves at a snail’s pace and no money is forthcoming. Soon everyone demands money. Forced to go to a loan shark, Nicola puts the family in danger. When the money finally arrives Nicola decides to by a new car…not just any car….but a Mercedes. Nicola rules the roost, but when a crisis occurs it is the women in the family whose iron fists hit the table first. No one is spared.
“IT WAS THE SON should be much better than it is. The acting is uneven, not the quality but the pace and style. The editing is also off-balance. Italy is struggling to find a new cinematic voice. IT WAS THE SON is a film that could have ended up in the Italian comedy hall of fame but instead has ended up in the pile of totally forgettable Italian cinema. 2 cats
“(IT WAS THE SON screened at the 2013 Miami International Film Festival.)”