Suburra is an Italian foreign language film set in modern day Rome all about political corruption and mob bosses.
The film has everything you would ever want out of an Italian crime and thriller production.
Including tons of action, suspense, passion, bribery and grit. While focusing on the romanticized notion of Rome being the "Eternal City" - unbreakable in the face of change.
Synopsis
The storyline of Suburra focuses on Filippio Malgradi, a crooked high ranked Italian member of parliament and a young gangster, nicknamed Samurai who is drunk on the desire to prove himself by any means necessary.
Both of the characters lives are intertwined when Samurai attempts to strike a deal that will make the waterfront of Rome into Italy’s Las Vegas.
How will he do this you ask? Well it's easier than one might suspect.
Samurai has many a politician, priest and criminal in his pocket. But everything spirals into chaos as MP Malgradi acts out of line which ends up having many fatal repercussions to many involved.
Important Themes
As fictitious as the film and characters may be, Suburra certainly packs a punch of entertainment and truth. I believe the real success of the film lies with how it seemed to blur the lines between fiction and reality.
The actions depicted in the film were definitely that of fiction, but they carried notions of truth behind them. In reality not everything is always clear-cut. Sometimes decisions are made to benefit a few out of the many.
Moreover, Suburra touches on the issue of political corruption within the Italian government. The most notable example being that it is not uncommon for members of the Italian government to be in the back-pocket of the mafia and other criminal organizations.
One of the most infamous examples of such a thing involves former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Berlusconi was a multi-billionaire, media conglomerate and owner of the famous football club AC Milan before becoming the leader of Italy. However, as famous as he was corruption seemed to follow him (especially during his tenure with AC Milan) in his business life wherever he went.
This was no different when he took office as in 2011 he faced dozens of criminal convictions which include tax evasion, fraud, statutory rape, paying for prostitution, tampering with criminal investigations and abuse of powers
He was found guilty of some of the charges but of course received heavily reduced jail times and paid fines.
Since then Berlusconi has gone back to continuing his political career after being mysteriously out of the public eye for a period of time.
Conclusion
I thoroughly enjoyed Suburra, it was rich in action and had many twists and turns. But it was also very grounded.
The calm nature of the film the keeps the viewer enticed. A large part of this oddly enough was due to the soundtrack, most of which was done by French electro duo M83.
The atmosphere created from the soundtrack was something I was very impressed by. It's like eating your favourite food, you just keep on digging in for more.
I went into Suburra with low expectations, not thinking much of it. And by the end of it, Suburra was easily added to my list of favourite films of 2015. It was that good.
As most crime-thriller films go, Suburra has many layers of corruption and deceit. Paired with a smartly written plot line and top notch acting, Suburra should most definitely be added to your watch list.
