1992
Original running length: 106 mins
Italy / Spain
A Trio Cinema e televisione, Surf Film, Asbrelproductions production
Distributed by Penta Distribution
Director: Giuseppe Ferrara
Story & screenplay: Armenia Balducci, Giuseppe Ferrara
Cinematography: Stefano Moser
Music: Andrea Guerra
Editor: Adriano Tagliavia
Art director: José María Tapiador
Cast: Juan Jose’ Pinero (Jesus), Jose’ Maldonado (Miguel), Cristobal Cornes (Diego), Adriana Sforza (Mercedes), Aldo Sambrell (Boss I), Joan Albarracin (Antonio), Ciro Ramos Burgos (head boy), Luis Castillo (El Crucero), Petra De Dominguez (Jesus’s mother), Zoed Eli Eligon (Pablito), Alfredo Xavier (Fernando), Jose’ Luis Useche (Chico), Antonio Subac Subero (‘Il Palo’), Andy Garcia (‘Il Negro’), Humberto Garcia (Judge Ramirez), Adelaida Pittaluga (Judge Elena Diaz), Juan Maria Albarracin, Maribella Portagnuolo, Loreto Ricci, Gerald Romer, Tullio Cavalli, Vittorio Ruggero, Arturo Broccolo, Eduardo Santoro, Manuel Rodal Rodriguez, Sandro Sbrascini, Raffaele Rosario Salvatore
Giuseppe Ferrara is one of those directors of whom I am aware, rather than familiar. After beginning his career as a journalist and as a documentary filmmaker, he directed his first full length feature, Il sasso in bocca, in 1969. Since then, though, his releases, although often controversial, have been relatively infrequent. There was Faccia di spia (Face of a Spy, 75), with its use of horrific, mondo-style footage, the Lando Ventura vehicle Cento giorni a Palermo (84) and the award winning Il caso Moro (86). In more recent years, he’s made respected but hardly money-spinning films such as Giovane Falcone (93), Segreto di stato (95), I banchieri di Dio (The Bankers of God: The Calvi Affair, 2002) and Guido che sfidò le Brigate Rosse (2007), his latest film to date.
His work occupies a similar space to that of Francesco Rosi and more recent directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Matteo Garrone, in that he makes films that follow traditional neo-realist lines – they’re heavy on the realism, often based on truth (or interpretations of the truth) and highly political – but he tries to do so within the framework of the crime film genre. Narcos, his 1992 film, made after a six year absence from cinema, initially looks as though it might be something a little atypical, primarily because it’s set in Columbia rather than Italy. Before long, though, it becomes apparent that he’s using the Columbian settings to put across a message about Italian society: it’s a place that’s similarly ridden by political corruption, under the control of powerful crime-lords and full of young men who are sucked into lives of criminality because, quite frankly, there isn’t much else in the way of opportunity for them.
Set in the ghettos of Medellin, the narrative follows three young men whose lives intersect as they become more heavily involved with the underworld. Jesus (Juan Jose’ Pinero) is a football fanatic who makes money by stealing luxury cars and selling them on to a dodgy local businessman, El Crucero (Luis Castillo). Diego (Cristobal Cornes) is a soldier in the private army of a wealthy drug baron, although his reputation takes a nosedive when he deliberately allows a young boy to escape during a raid on some his boss’s enemies. And, finally, Miguel (Jose’ Maldonado) is part of a band of murderous young bandits, a part time killer with a liking for cocaine.
Jesus and Miguel meet during a party, and their friendship is cemented when Miguel starts seeing Jesus’s sister, Mercedes (Adriana Sforza). Looking for some easy cash, they both start selling drugs for El Crucero but, after a deal goes wrong, they’re spirited away until the heat goes down. Conscripted to serve in El Crucero’s boss’s army, the very same one of which Diego is a member, they quickly get a lesson in manufacturing side of the cocaine trade, not to mention becoming involved in the execution of supposed traitors. Before long, though, they’re back in the city, being trained in a school for potential assassins, where they’re taught the ins and outs of becoming a professional killer – such as how to shoot people from a moving motorbike – before being sent to carry out their first hits. Miguel & Diego take to it easily enough, but Jesus is consumed by guilt, suffering visions of the men he kills. It’s only a matter of time, though, until they’re considered to be expendable.
Supposedly based on a true story, this is trademark Ferrara. There’s plenty of use of documentary and newsreel footage to lend an air of authenticity to it all, and the emphasis is on portraying the reality of daily life in the Columbian underworld. There are also some very impressive stylistic moments, such as an atmospheric chase through a football stadium, and it looks fantastic, being crisply shot and edited with an eye on the pacing. Although made in a very realistic fashion, it’s also extremely exciting, and stands up well as both a thriller and a social drama.
It benefits from a well-written script by Ferrara and his regular collaborator, former actress Armenia Balducci. The characters are well drawn, while the relentless succession of murders emphasises the fragility of life on the streets and the danger of doing anything to displease the drug barons and their minions. The protagonists themselves, though, are portrayed sympathetically, and there’s a great moment where they realise that there are a bunch of other kids working for the same people who have been ordered to kill them. The true villains are the drug barons and the corrupt officials and lawyers in their pay, and there seems to be a certain admiration for the mechanics and logistics of the trade; these may be criminals and what they do might be reprehensible, but they’re organised, trained criminals who do what they do pretty damned well and know exactly how the society they operate in works.
Most of the cast, at a guess, are actually young and possibly non-professional Columbian actors. Certainly, none of them seem to have appeared in many (if any) other films, although there is an Adriana Sforza who worked as a hairstylist on films like Soavi’s Stagefright. The only familiar name is trash icon Aldo Sambrell, who had previously worked in South America on films like Atraco en la jungle (Blue Jeans and Dyamite, 76). He also, supposedly, had a hand in the script as well, but at a guess this was mostly to do with dialogue, as his name isn’t shown on several prints.
Unfortunately, Narcos has rather disappeared into the ether nowadays. There doesn’t seem to be an English print available, and not much information about its domestic or international release is available. It’s a shame, because it’s actually a very good film, and it would be interesting to know whether people like Sorrentino and Garrone had seen it before making Il Divo and Gomorra (both 2008) respectively. Also, it would be interesting to know if this did get a showing in South America, because it reads almost like a blueprint for City of God (2002).
