The mountains of southern Italy are the eerie setting for Black Souls, a slow-burning crime drama from Francesco Munzi. The film centres on three brothers from the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate in Calabria, and though it begins in Amsterdam as Luigi (Marco Leonardi) brokers a drug deal, fate sucks him back to the mountains, where a tragedy is about to unfold.

In Milan, the middle brother, Rocco (Peppino Mazzotta), looks after the family accounts, while back in Calabria the eldest, Luciano (Fabrizio Ferracane), has withdrawn from the syndicate. Leo (Giuseppe Fumo), Luciano’s disenchanted son, pitches up in Milan and demands Rocco and
Luigi induct him into the family business. But Leo’s temper reawakens a feud with another family, and soon the crisis swells.

There’s an almost theatrical grandeur to the plot, but it zings with realism. Fans of Gomorrah might find this equally thrilling and, in its exploration of the supremacy of family, there are comparisons to be drawn with The Godfather.

Robbie Collin
The Daily Telegraph

With the support of the Italian Cultural Institute

 

Please note that the festival is for over 18s only