Il sindaco del Rione Sanità

On one hand, the scenes from the start of 'The Godfather', presenting a mafia chief as the head of a community, are a glamorisation of the brutal reality of organised crime. On the other, the depiction of a quasi-familial relationship is maybe not completely appropriate - not all families are happy, after all, and there is some truth in the notion that the mafia (both in the U.S., and in its native Italy) stepped into a vacancy in authority. 'Il Sindaco del Rione Sanita' tells the tale or an organised crime boss in one of Naples' most infamous neighbourhoods, and in a sense, it's built entirely on Godfather-style clichés; watch 'Gomorrah' to see a less sentimental portrait of the way that gangsters actually act. But it's not so much glamourized as stylised, with an interesting script and strong performances apparent behind the somewhat hackneyed concept of the honourable criminal. I enjoyed it, even if I didn't quite entirely believe it.