The Sicillian Girl (2009)***

Posted by Guest Blogger Shu Zin

THE SICILIAN GIRL is a passably interesting mob story, filmed in Italian, in Sicily and Rome. A young girl (Veronica D’Agostino) whose father and brother have been murdered by a competing mafia family decides that, no matter how long it takes, she will avenge their deaths. There is nothing to set this story about the entrapment and trial of a bunch of mafiosi apart from many others, except that it is an Italian take on the rather familiar subject.

The acting is fine, the cinematography nothing special, and it is not the most intelligently conceived and written plot, but it is taken from real life and, as such, I suppose, Director Marco Amenta has exercised restraint and avails himself of limited poetic license. Gerard Jugnot is cast as the prosecutor, Giudice Borsellino, and he delivers a solid, credible performance. I haven’t seen Jugnot since he was the wonderfully sympathetic French chorus master in THE CHORUS.

Come to think of it, there was a whiff of something French about him in this film, but I didn’t detect even a hint of a French accent in this Italian effort. This is a mildly entertaining 130 minutes, with the occasional operatic moment (Tosca?) and a hint of Romeo and Juliet in the tragic love affair. Your Call.


Posted by Guest Blogger Shu Zin