Reissued 1962 film showcases unjustly forgotten star
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, March 8, 2007
The restoration of “Mafioso” is more than the return of an enjoyable, not-quite-classic movie from a great era in Italian film.
This restoration also pays tribute to two major talents who deserve more appreciation outside their country. Leading man Alberto Sordi and director Alberto Lattuada were both hugely successful in their time, but Sordi never quite broke through in the U.S. and Lattuada couldn’t garner critical approval -possibly because his movies were too entertaining.
“Mafioso,” a 1962 comedy-drama, gives both men their due. As the title suggests, the picture is an early foray into that now-familiar genre, the Mafia movie.
Sordi plays Antonio Badalamenti, an upwardly mobile mid-level manager at the Fiat car factory in Milan. He’s about to take his wife and two children to the town in Sicily where he grew up – his first trip back in years.
The film’s funniest moments come with Antonio’s triumphant return home: the staggering platters of food (and that’s just the antipasto) served by countless family members, the mustachioed sister, the delicate local politics.
Ah yes, this is also the Sicily of “The Godfather,” and Antonio must pay his respects to the town’s presiding GoodFella, Don Vincenzo (Ugo Attanasio). This is the mob chief who, it turns out, had something to do with Antonio getting a good start in life.
And now Don Vincenzo needs a little favor. Everybody together now: it’s an offer Antonio can’t refuse.
This leads “Mafioso” toward a dramatic conclusion, which doesn’t entirely mesh with the earthy comedy of the early reels (some of which is overextended – the movie’s a little too much, like Antonio’s family).
Director Lattuada, whose career stretched from the 1940s heyday of gritty postwar Italian neo-realism to 1989, gilds the action with wonderful touches: the breathtaking overhead shots of the Fiat plant that bookend the story, or the plant manager whose desk is designed like a dashboard.
Family dynamics are amusing (at first Antonio can’t tell which of the stout village ladies is actually his mother). There’s also the sunny location scenery and an inventive score by Piero Piccioni, which by turns is frantic and lushly romantic.
Alberto Sordi gives good evidence of why he was such a durable, comical Italian Everyman. He gleefully throws himself into Antonio’s stretchy personality: a glad-handing, somewhat fatuous career man, easily brought to tears by sentiment. His rubbery face and non-stop vocal patter keep this oddball tale afloat.
“Mafioso”
Funny and serious: A 1962 Italian comedy-drama about a Sicilian-born man (the popular star Alberto Sordi) who returns to his hometown and finds the local godfather needs a little favor. By turns funny and serious, the film is not quite a classic but a marvelous showcase for Sordi and director Alberto Lattuada. (In Italian, with English subtitles.)
Now showing: Seven Gables theater, Seattle.
Rated: No rating, but probably PG-13 for violence.
