This tidy Italian film appears to be an honest snapshot into the corruption some people must deal with on a daily basis; although the plot centers around an outside judge who is supposed to uncover corruption, the view becomes fascinated with the daily lives of those who protect him, the trusted ones whose lives are put on the line every time they walk outside to get into a car, when they drive down city streets, when the shield the man they are there to protect.
Each of these "escorts" (hence the title "Scorta") is given a distinct personality, and we come to care for them, particularly a contrasting pair, one an angry loner with a dark agenda of his own, and one a family man trying to make a name for himself in law enforcement. We come to care for these two more than we care to watch another bloodletting, the possibility of which lurks around almost every frame of the film: corruption runs rampant, and thus this is not a simple film about the good cop triumphant over the bad gangster.
Some people complain regarding the ending, as it appears not to be nice and tidy, the viewer left with the satisfaction that two hours spent watching can leave them feeling happy. I would suggest that the film gains power by creating a vacuum where each of us is led by the writer and director of this film to make us deal with a little reality. Judge for yourself! It's a worthwhile film with a penetrating score by Ennio Morricone.
