By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.3 cats
Director: Julien Colonna
Starring: Andre Cossu | Anthony Morganti | Frederic Poggi | Ghjuvanna Benedetti | Saveriu Santucci
Original language title: Le royaume
Year: 2025
Running time: 112
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32086032/reference/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_8_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_the%2520kingdom
Michael says: “Let me get this out of the way up front. I have a very strong dislike for stories about crime family/mafia. The only one I can think of that I enjoyed was BOUND, so the odds were stacked against THE KINGDOM from the start. So I was surprised that I did gradually warm up to it a bit based on its unique point of view and underlying coming-of-age story. Julien Colonna’s Sicilian-set tale mixes a little AFTERSUN into THE GODFATHER, that give it a slightly different spin.
“Lesia is your typical teen. Seeking her often absent father’s love by participating in activities she doesn’t actually enjoy, like hunting, while longing to just spend time at the beach with the boy she has a crush on. Her life changes dramatically when she is swept up in her father’s life… that of a mafia-style crime boss. The film then follows a fairly predictable path but Lesia’s observant presence uplifts the experience.
“As Lesia, Ghjuvanna Benedetti has an intense gaze and a deft way she balances the daughter of a criminal godfather and a teen-aged girl. Colonna frequently shoots Benedetti observing the men around her, often surreptitiously, with her large, dark eyes taking in what is visible and what is not. The relationships are well-defined, and I far preferred the somewhat predictable character development to the tired plot. The ending was inevitable, but a little forced. 3 cats
“Screened at The Brattle Theatre, Independent film Festival Boston”
Laks says: “Set during the nationalist wars in the 1990’s, THE KINGDOM is a fictional story about a father daughter relationship set in the midst of a bloody period in Corsican history where nationalist factions and underground mob clans were emerging enacting horrific violence against each other. While I have often shied away from gangster films, typically those that glamorize violence, however, in THE KINGDOM, the glamour is almost entirely removed, there is nothing to redeem any of the bosses and their henchmen who live entirely on the run, in hiding, always looking over their shoulders, always having to scheme, always living apart from their loved ones and always being murdered in absolutely horrific way. In a few fast scenes, almost imperceptible if you blinked, we are given glimpse of the mafia living in terror of the nationalist factions, who seem to be enacting over the top violence, even compared to the vengeful warring mob clans who only take out specific targets. Aside from the back drop of violence which is rarely depicted in the film except in very quick scenes nearly three quarters of the way into the movie, the film depicts both the closeness of the mob families who are often living in harsh lonely lives away from each other. One can draw some comfort when the film allows to you bask in the sun and sea of beautiful Corsican landscapes. Its almost crushing to imagine so much violence could take place in such a beautiful place. Ghjuvanna Benedetti is outstanding in her role as the mob boss daughter and together with Saveriu Santucci they portray a touching albeit estranged father daughter relationship very well. – 4 Cats”
Chris says: “Opening with a scene so shocking and visceral that you’re best off not expecting the filmmakers to even try topping it (and they don’t), this story of a Corsican crime family set in 1995 is business-as-usual as these things go–lotsa scenes of attacks, retaliation and hiding out from both the enemy and the police. At the center is 15-year-old Lesia (Ghjuvanna Benedetti) who has mostly been shielded from the action until she’s reunited with her crime boss father, Pierre-Paul (Santucci). This relationship is the only interesting facet here and the film’s second half is better for devoting more focus to it (particularly in some tender, nuanced exchanges between Benedetti and Santucci.) Alas, the rest is mostly unmemorable, though I did note that when Benedetti cut and bleached her hair to disguise herself, she suddenly, uncannily resembled a young Aimee Mann (but without the braid.) 3 cats
“(IFF Boston 2025 Film # 2: Metrograph will distribute in North America.)”