The film Piranhas is very compelling, the direction great and the production value on target, but you may find it hard to accept the storyline due to the age of the kids. Information from the bonus features does however, give clues that it was based on the book by novelist Roberto Saviano who had witnessed the lifestyle in the Naples, Italy slums. The film has the touch of the gang fights in the film West Side Story, the extortion in scenes from The Godfather II and the romance of the star crossed lovers in Romeo and Juliet. I know that’s a lot to think about, even though I feel it will help you understand how and why everything comes into play.
Nicola “Nico” Fiorillo (Francesco Di Napoli) lives in Sanita the poorest area in Naples where everyday life includes some sort of crime taking place. His mom (Valentina Vannino) runs a cleaners and barely scrapes buy because a share of her business goes for protection collected by the local mob. Not too fond of the local mob who took over from the Striano syndicate, Nico finds a way to work himself and his group of friends into their system as drug pushers. From there on out it’s a war between the mob and those who follow Nico.
Director and co-screenwriter Claudio Giovannesi does a good job of depicting the kids who want to take over the mob. Barely teens, the boys following Nico range from 12 to 15, yet being brought up in a neighborhood that has thrived on graft, extortions, drugs and other criminal activities. And, they have already started to harden into the gang way of life. Along with the violence Giovannesi adds a love story between Nico and Letizia Russo (Viviana Aprea), daughter of a prominent family and owner of a restaurant. It’s a love at first sight and as their relationship grows, so does Nico’s involvement in the mob.
While the film was created as an original project, there are some marked relationships to movies like Romeo and Juliet with Nico and Letizia being on opposite sides of the coin. You can see segment likenesses to other famous films throughout, like the gang rumbles that are prevalent in West Side Story, the extortion racket being enforced by Don Corleone in The Godfather II, and others with that depicted a similar crime drama. It’s not a deterrent, but an homage of sorts that really works nicely in the movie.
Playing the main protagonist as Nico, Francesco Di Napoli does a very good job of showing the young teen’s power rise. Nico may be just another 15 year old street kid, but Di Napoli shows he has already been hardened into believing that anything is possible if you go and take it. Nico’s also a leader of followers and like himself they want a better way of life even if they have to kill for it. Getting to the top of the reigning mob, Nico must take a lot of chances and this is where you find Di Napoli’s best effort as he worms his personality and decisiveness into the dangerous den of “big time” crime. According to the Bonus material, writer Roberto Saviano of the book on which the film is based, says that Di Napoli was chosen as the lead partially because he came from the neighborhood depicted in the film. For his first role ever, it’s an Al Pacino beginning.
BONUS FEATURES:
“Making of Piranhas” producer, director and stars of the film give personal insight on how actors were chosen, more understanding of the storyline and other information. It features a personal interview of Francesco Di Napoli as well.
“Interview with writer Roberto Saviano” Here the writer tells about his book and why the lead actor was chosen for the part and other interesting facts.
“Press Conference from 2019 Berlinale” Called Berlinale. The Berlin International Film Festival is one of the big three and include Venice Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival. This question and answer extra features a panel the filmmakers and cast members Di Napoli and Viviana Aprea answering questions from the audience about their roles in the film and much more much more from the producers, director and writer.
Piranhas has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains violence, drug use, underage drinking, sexuality, brief nudity, and language.
The film plays out in the Italian language with English subtitles. Now on DVD and Blu-ray the home video allows you to pause and rewind that becomes helpful in reading the subtitles. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children to see the film as it does have some scenes that are inappropriate for youngsters
FINAL ANALYSIS: The film is very compelling and intriguing. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Francesco Di Napoli, Valentina Vannino, Ar Tem, Alfredo Turitto, Viviana Aprea, Pasquale Marotta, Luca Nacarlo.
Directed and co-written by: Claudio Giovannesi.
Distributed by: Music Box Films.
Released on: Blu-ray, DVD.
Distributed by: Music Box Films.
Released on: Blu-ray, DVD.
Not Rated: contains violence, drug use, underage drinking, sexuality, brief nudity, and language
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
