Dean Crowe Theatre Athlone

Tuesday 8 October 2024 8pm

Dir: Marco Bellocchio Italy, France, Germany, 2023

Language: Italian with subtitles

Running time:  134 mins Cert: CLUB

Starring: Paolo Pierobon,Fausto Russo Alesi,Barbara Ronchi,Enea Sala,Leonard Maltese, Filippo Timi,Fabrizio Gifuni

Based on the unbelievable true story of how a six-year-old Jewish boy, Edgardo Mortara, was taken by the Catholic Church following claims that he was baptized by the family’s maid as a baby. While his distraught family fight to get him back, they find themselves at the epicentre of a historical battle between Catholic authoritarianism and a growing opposition movement.

Palme d’Or-winning director Marco Bellocchio creates a gripping portrait of a small Jewish community in turmoil, at the mercy of a hostile and all-powerful theocracy. Awash with nods to the masterworks of Caravaggio and Delacroix, the film uses light and shadow to convey the drama of the events — whether Edgardo’s inner turmoil or the country’s momentous unrest.

Based on a true story

Festivals:
Cannes Film Festival 2023
Toronto International Film Festival 2023
BFI London Film Festival 2023

Quotes:
"An engaging and somewhat fascinating film, telling a true story that probes historic Italian antisemitism and the follies of the Catholic church."
– Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

"The story is kept at a stress-inducing simmer, with occasional surges of operatic emotion." – Keith Uhlich

"★★★★★ It is a full-tilt melodrama with the passionate vehemence of Victor Hugo or Charles Dickens, which lays bare an ugly formative episode of Europe’s Catholic church: an affair of antisemitism and child abuse." – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian