The film opens with a static
shot of a tall Christmas tree with lights. After a few moments, two boys enter the frame,
with the idea of claiming the tree before a rival gang of boys is able to. And
from then on, the camera seems move with them. Is this a game they’re engaged in?
Something more serious? Soon they have a bonfire going and are chanting “Quartieri, enemy number one!” It seems mostly
like a bit of fun, boys letting off some steam and enjoying each other’s
company. But you get a sense there is something much darker in the background of
this sort of play. And you can’t help but wonder where the parents and
authorities are. Then when Nicola goes to his mother’s shop to get a jacket, he
witnesses two thugs shaking her down for a weekly payment. Nicola is clearly bothered
by this scene, but can do nothing to stop it. Not yet.
When Nicola and his friends are kept from entering a club, and not because they are underage, which they are, but
because they don’t have 500 euros to pay the doorman, they vow to get the money
next time. They befriend Agostino, a member of a crime family that is no longer
in power, and get a taste for what money can bring them. For some reason, this
kids are particularly excited about wristwatches, and end up robbing a jewelry
store with a fake gun in order to get their hands on some. But that ends up getting them
into trouble with the ruling crime family. Relatively undaunted by their
encounter, the kids ask to work for them, and begin by dealing drugs. They take
their jobs quite seriously, even scaring off another guy who tries to sell in
what they call their territory. And they use their money to get into that club.
It’s hard to keep from thinking these kids are kind of pathetic. How important
is it to get into clubs and to wear expensive sneakers? But that is their world,
a world without positive role models, a world without much compassion, a world
without school or structure, a world without bigger dreams. And soon these boys are acting tough, with Nicola
doing it in part to impress a pretty girl named Letizia (Viviana Aprea), and
then collecting payments from shop owners, and wanting to take over the
neighborhood themselves. Yet, they are still children, and we see it when they
act goofy, taking photos of themselves with their cell phones while posing with
guns and so on.
The film moves at a fast pace,
just as their lives seem to do, and we get caught up in this world, just as
these kids do. A world than can be beautiful and enticing at moments, but also
overwhelming, dangerous and ugly, and always interesting.
Special Features
The DVD contains a featurette
on the making of the film, which includes interviews with director Claudio
Giovanessi and cast member Francesco Di Napoli, as well as some footage shot during
production. The special features also include a short interview with writer
Roberto Saviano, who talks about the background of the story. And there is footage
from a question and answer session at Berlinale, featuring the film’s director,
writer, producers and some cast members. who talk about the reality behind the story of the film. The film’s trailer is also included.
Piranhas was directed by Claudio Glovannesi, and was released on
DVD on January 14, 2020 through Music Box Films. It is presented in its
original Italian, with English subtitles.
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