Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

ronchow By chance I stumbled on a DVD copy of this film and have just finished watching it - all 150 minutes of it. The 2.5 hrs went by fast as I was absorbed by the story and the characters in it. Acting by the several actors was good, although I know none of them. Directing was smooth. The only things missing was my understanding of the political backdrop in Italy in the 70's. This knowledge would have enabled to understanding the plot better.On the other hand, my ignorance of the director, the actors, and the backdrop time period gives me total objectivity - I watched it strictly for a cinematic experience. And I was not disappointed.

freemantle_uk The most famous criminal within Italy is easily the Mafia, but here is a film that shows a crime organisation that was not link them.Set in the 70s and 80s Romanzo Criminale tells the story of three friends Ice (Kim Rossi Stuart), Lebanese (Riccardo Scamarcio) and Dandy (Claudio Santamaria) who in the 70s rise up the Rome underworld, forming a gang to kidnap wealthy people, drug dealing and murdering the heads of rival gangs. They quickly raise to the top, with Ice and Dandy finding love on the way, Ice with a pretty young tutor Roberta (Jasmine Trinca) and Dandy with an up-market escort Patrizia (Anna Mouglalis). The gang have to face a number of threats, from Communist Terrorists, the Italian government and the very demanded police commissioner Scialoja (Stefano Accorsi).Romanzo Criminale is a very well acted film, with excellent performances across the board. Many of the actors in the film should have a good future ahead of them. There a good action set pieces, with Michele Placido being very skilled behind the camera. The film is violence but not OTT. He pacing can be a little slow at times, but he knew what he was doing, showing both the gangster side of the film with the more personal and tender moments. However, his opening credit scene felt too much like a Guy Ritchie film and should have avoided that. They is a strong script, with a lot of elements and subplots throughout the film. They is a quite a lot to follow so needs a few viewings. The soundtrack is also very notable.A very worthy film.

satans_daughter443 The problem with this movie is that it is misunderstood. It contains the Hollywood likings with it being compared to scarface and godfather..... American gangster movies. This is NOT an American movie its European, it contains everything that a contemporary European movie has at its heart. The movie focuses on love, emotions, relationships and evokes those true emotions of past historical events. Yet with Hollywood narrative conventions this will confuse or put a strictly Hollywood audience on edge and raise questions.But do not be put off this is an excellent movie those who like the documentary style of City of God will not be disappointed with this movie as the cinematography will have frequent reminders of it! The acting is superb there are few flaws in any of the acting in this movie, all is believable and lovable, as an audience you are automatically emotionally attached to the characters. Especially those of Ice, Dandy and Lebanese.This movie is hard to criticise yet it may confuse some members of its audience yet definitely worth seeing! For those who have never seen a foreign film this maybe hard going with its over 2 hour running time but you will not be disappointed!

obradovic-jelena I expected this film to be a Pulp Fiction spin off or some mediocre crime drama with the usual shootings and token women thrown in. However, the film is excellent primarily because it focuses just as much on the complex relationships between friends and lovers, as well as the workings of the gangs themselves. Freddo and Roberta are one of the few convincing on screen couples, and the film is a great exploration of loyalties. The pace is slower than in most 'heist' type dramas but this works to its advantage. It is visually uncluttered and the music is not owepowering, so it really allows you to contemplate what the film is really about: love, loyalty, friendship. Whoever approaches this as just a film about a gang is missing out on a lot. I wasn't familiar with any of the actors before but they completely convinced me. Someone complained about criminals being too pretty in this film, but I have to say, it is only halfway through that I noticed that Freddo is actually quite attractive, as is Nero, but the film is structured and filmed in such a way that your attention is not immediately drawn to this. Rather you get to know the characters first, and only focus on their physical attributes second.