Piranhas

The popularity of Italian language gang movies and TV shows has risen to high level in recent years and we have Gomorrah and Suburra to thank for that and while Piranhas isn't quite up to their standards, it's still an interesting look at the underclasses in Napoli .

Six 15-year-old boys deal drugs and use assault rifles to rule their neighborhood in Naples, interested only in making money, wearing designer clothes and surviving in a world where they believe they have no future.

There isn't much of a story in this film . It flows like the boys lives . Without a care . The kids live for today and that's the way the movie is made . Not a great deal of structure but plenty of spontaneity. They probably know things are never going to turn out well but they are going to enjoy it while they can .

Exactly as it did watching it .

Good movie about the life of a very young gang that morphs into the new generation of the mob. It's directed very dryly which adds to the realism, but it falls into some of the usual tropes of mob movies. Solid performances throughout.

Even though the acting was really good, the movie did not establish any emotional ties towards the characters on screen. Instead of concentrating on the evolvement of the characters, the film focuses more on the plot. Considering that I found the storyline rather predictable and pressed into a typical screenwriting-scheme, it did not catch me nor it surprised me.

The movie was shot quite close. Most of the time you see a range of close shots and close-ups which I found quite restricting in the beginning but I got used to it after a while and by the end of the movie I appreciated the artistic aspect of this choice of filming.

For me personally this movie does not dig deep enough beyond the surface to be more than average and to leave a lasting memory in my mind. But it definitely has some good moments, so if you get the chance to watch it, do so.

I have a lot of friends from Naples and they said this movie depicts the reality of the situation of the youth in Naples today. You follow the story of one boy with his friends who tries to make ends meet while they dont go to school and easily succumb to the ways of the Mafia for easy money. It's really sad. The movie is well made and well paced, you keep asking yourself what are they going do to next and how is this going to end. The love story dragged on a little bit but otherwise its a good watch that I would recommend.

Didn't even watched a trailer before so my expectations were very low. Actually a really decent mafia flick even though this movie is about the younger generation in Naples. Story developed very well, pacing was also good. Never felt even slightly bored in 2 hours. Oh and the actors did a great job despite they're basically "NoNames". Overall a real hidden gem of a movie. (I didnt liked the ending that much so it's not a 10 for me)

I'm hyped to see more of Claudio Giovannesi in the future. 8.5/10