The Truth About Gomorra

Gomorra is more than just a gangster film. The focus is the underground system of the “Camorra” that rules within the Naples’ area, the setting is the suburban sprawl. Inspired by Gomorra, the homonym best seller (1.2 million copies in Italy alone) of undercover Italian journalist Roberto Saviano, is directed by Matteo Garrone. By pieceing together five stories, the film is a documentation of vile actions of the Mafia bringing the reality to the big screen: Totò, the ten year old is being forced by his Mafia clan to join them and to betray Maria, the woman he delivers food to everyday; Franco, who is responsible for contracting industrial waste managing with European companies, represents the cold immorality of the illegal system in which crime has been considered ordinary, a routine. The wickedness is taken for granted: the bribery and corruption are formed by the sound of gun shots as well as by the sound of money. Fingers are not pointed, only bare facts and the gangsters are not portrayed as heros with cigars and hats, they are real people. Landscapes are more than just a background: the birdseye view of the little swimming pool between the buildings is as significant as the information given at the end of the film- The director states that the organization caused 4,000 deaths over the last three years, the funneling of money into enterprises both illegal and legal, includes the rebuilding of the Twin towers. The local Mafia is connected not only to the economy, daily life, drugs, arms and prostitution but also to the media and politics, including waste and manufacturing. “It was weird to see children carring arms and driving trucks. I thought stuff like that only happened in Africa! It was a real eye opener - told one viewer- I’m originally from China and I know that China is the biggest copycat in the world! They will spend a lot of black-money to get designs and fabrics.” For anyone with knowledge on the Mafia, this is something new, “but it’s completely different to see it in picture- said another viewer- for example the scene where the truck driver does not receive medical care after the accident with radioactive waste. The Mafia organization and the lack of work creates victims everywhere: innocent people risk their lives because they don’t have alternatives for everyday life. Gomorra initiated the birth of an unaligned movement on the internet (like ) since the anti mafia struggle ought to be a cultural and moral mass movement.
As Franco Roberti, district coordinator of Antimafia Napoli, said “Now, after Gomorra, no one can say that they don’t know about the reality we face.”